Globe: UCEM’s ambition to create a more sustainable built environment

Posted on: 26 October, 2023

UCEM is proud to announce Globe – our framework to drive change and advocate for a more sustainable built environment.

Climate change is a global emergency – it isn’t going away any time soon. With temperatures and sea levels rising and more and more extreme weather events occurring around the world, the race is on to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and achieve net zero.

As a sector that generates around 40% of global annual CO2, the built environment has a significant influence on climate change. However, far from presenting an insurmountable challenge, this figure presents an opportunity for our industry to be at the forefront of change.

Globe is UCEM’s strategy to advocate for sustainability, challenge the status quo, and make a real difference within the built environment.

This institution-wide approach to sustainability will allow us and others to enact change through leadership, education and influence.

As Ashley Wheaton, UCEM’s Principal, commented:

“Our built environment sector, particularly domestically, latches on to net zero and carbon reduction as a very key theme and deliverable. However, we have a responsibility beyond that, particularly as you look at global markets. For me, the widest definition of sustainability is the correct one.”

“Globe is designed to represent the total nature of our institution. The strategy is put into a format that is easily comprehended, and its five areas add up to a much greater hole than the sum of its individual parts.”

To learn more about the five different dimensions of Globe and our ambitions for the coming years, watch the full video:

Read Ashley’s full interview on the inception of Globe here: Adopting a sustainability lens in everything we do – a Q&A with UCEM Principal Ashley Wheaton