We are excited to announce that our Thrive Director, Philippa Birch-Wood, has won Net Zero Champion of the Year at the BEN Procurement Awards.

The award is recognition of Philippa’s commitment to driving the increase in sustainability, social value and forward-thinking, which is aiding in delivering change across the wider built environment.

Upon winning the award Philippa said: “There really is a large opportunity for CO2 reduction in the construction sector, something that myself and my team emphasise as part of Chetwoods Thrive. Not only do we advocate for Net Zero Carbon buildings, we also consider the wider themes highlighted in the UN Sustainable Development Goals which we have translated into our seven sustainability drivers; carbon control, water, resources, health and wellbeing, resilience, biodiversity, value and cost.”

As head of our Thrive team, Philippa guides clients towards Net Zero in line with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings framework definition. She not only acts on construction projects but also helps clients to shape development strategy to deliver long-term change.

Philippa’s expertise is shared throughout the wider construction industry through panels and talks. She has led several R&D initiatives into the use of sustainable materials in construction. This includes collaborating with NBS Source to help implement additional sustainability related filters in their manufacturer product platform, which is an invaluable resource for architects and design teams when specifying materials.

Her team have been sharing their knowledge of building materials by rolling out hands-on Material Matters Workshops which focus on embodied carbon but also consider health, wellbeing and circularity. We are running one of these workshops as a late night event in Clerkenwell during the London Festival of Architecture on Friday 16th June.   See here for details.

Her recent articles include how architects can design to save water to mark World Water Week and, during COP27, how to address barriers to reducing carbon in construction.

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