Construction professionals spanning the Midlands' supply chains are set to gather today (Wednesday 22 Mar) in Birmingham for the latest Constructing Excellence event to discuss how the industry must commit more towards promoting social value and inclusion.

Presented by the CE Birmingham and Black Country Club of Constructing Excellence Midlands, the ‘Social Value and Inclusion... why it’s critical for your business’ conference will take place from 8:30am-10:30am at The Macdonald Burlington Hotel - with CE members and non-members encouraged to secure their ticket.

Andrew Carpenter, chief executive of Constructing Excellence Midlands, said: “As a membership organisation we strive to promote best practice and collaboration in the region’s construction industry, matters of which social value and inclusion inextricably factor into.

“The construction industry generates enormous contributions to the Midlands, both positively through progressive opportunity but also negatively such as emissions. It is imperative that we go beyond cost and take equal responsibility to protect the best interests of those whose lives we impact and the environment we work in."

As part of the conference, Shazad Ahmad, social value manager at manufacturing professional services firm Arup, will be providing his outlook on the road to social value, speaking from his experience of delivering community engagement, social value and environmental, social and governance (ESG) for a variety of large-scale projects.

Cathryn Greville, head of the fairness, inclusion and respect (FIR) at the Supply Chain Sustainability School, will be discussing how the teaching platform’s FIR programme can support businesses to be more innovative and profitable - addressing workplace culture challenges to attract and retain talent.

Andrew added: “Our panel for the event are at the forefront of delivering social value through construction projects as well as the all-important education behind the industry, so I'm really looking forward to hearing their insights into how we can all ‘do better’ and deliver tangible social value through our works.”

The event is free for Constructing Excellence members and tickets cost £25 for non-members. The full agenda for the event is as follows:

  • 8.30am - Tea and coffee/croissants/bacon rolls and networking
  • 9.00am - Welcome & Introduction - Andrew Carpenter, chief executive of CE Midlands
  • The road to social value - Shazad Ahmad, social value manager at Arup
  • Fairness, Inclusion & Respect (FIR) Programme Cathryn Greville - head of FIR at Supply Chain School
  • Question time with the panel of speakers
  • 10.25am - Conclusions, delivered by Andrew Carpenter