The Building Podcast with Mark Wakeford

Mark Wakeford

Mark Wakeford is a Director of the National Federation of Builders, Strategy Director of the Global Solar Council and Chair of the West Midlands Solar Taskforce.  He has run a large regional building contractor and now chairs Evoenergy, one of the UK's foremost renewable companies, bringing low carbon solutions to corporate Britain. Mark talks to leading experts from across the construction sector to discuss issues facing the built environment.  He explores various challenges with his guests, who offer solutions, information and ideas that listeners can apply to their own situations, be it in a company, on a project or studying at college. The Building Podcast aims to provide 'CPD on the go'.  Supporting the sector with easily digestible ideas to support a rapidly changing industry! https://www.linked.com/in/markwakeford/ 

  1. 4d ago

    Setting the Standard for Solar Training Globally - Transferable qualifications in the world's fastest growing energy sector

    Send a Text - Feedback Welcome The solar sector is comparatively young, with few institutions or standardisations.  Yet it is the world's fastest growing energy generator and will be vying for the top spot within the decade.  In order to take this prize, the sector must ensure that its installations are to the highest quality, delivered safely and that they provide a robust source of energy.  A major element of this is the workforce that design, deliver and maintain these assets and the Global Solar Council is working with The Global Wind Organisation to develop and deliver a training programme around the world to service this growing demand. Thomas Redmond is the Training Project Manager at the Global Wind Organisation (GWO) who is responsible for developing these international standards and for rolling them out to training providers around the world.   The GWO has the infrastructure to work with its members and representatives from the Global Solar Council (GSC) to be able to arrive at competent qualifications quickly and effectively.  They also have a network of providers who understand the governance of quality and course development that the GWO insists upon who are ready to pick up the solar qualifications. Listen to this podcast to find out how the GWO creates and delivers competent courses that support a growing industry. Hear how these qualifications can enable a successful career in renewable energy delivery and why these skills are transferable around the globe.  Listen to find out why these qualifications are so relevant to the work of solar professionals and why they are backed by the members of the Global Solar Council to deliver quality installations all around the world. Thomas Redmond | LinkedIn Global Solar Council | Skills GWO Solar Training Committee

    Setting the Standard for Solar Training Globally - Transferable qualifications in the world's fastest growing energy sector

  2. Aug 24

    Net Zero – Mandatory Change and Massive Opportunities for the Early adopters in Construction

    Send a Text - Feedback Welcome The seventh Carbon budget has just been accepted by the UK Government.  This tracks progress towards our net zero ambition by 2050 and is now a mandatory target.  Government will publish its plans to achieve this.  Construction and Energy sectors will have a huge role to play in delivering these intermediary targets, particularly as these sectors influence a massive 43% of UK emissions, compared to representing 8% of the UK’s GDP. Hannah Vickers is the Co-Chair of Construct Zero, the initiative set up by the UK’s Construction Leadership Council.  The initiative aims to lead the industry towards its net zero responsibilities, showcasing best in class and benchmarking companies and their projects on net-zero criteria.  There is much to do, and Hannah is focused on the biggest wins that the industry can deliver in terms of carbon savings. Listen to this podcast to find out what is driving change in construction and how the sector will need to modify its priorities.  Listen to find out how the industry will need to adapt to respond to the statutory carbon targets and how the industry can work through the Construction Leadership Council to ensure that these changes can be delivered. Hannah Vickers | LinkedIn CO2nstructZero – Construction Leadership Council Built Confidence | Success starts here

  3. Aug 20

    Community Energy – A powerful tool to bring communities together through renewables and energy savings

    Send a Text - Feedback Welcome Community Energy Schemes have been around for over a decade, providing access to energy investments to local communities.  They continue to gain in popularity and the movement continues to gain momentum as more and more organisations look to unlock the power of community engagement.  Sarah Burgess a freelance expert and director of Grand Union Community Energy Ltd talks about the structure, the skills and the mechanism for getting a community scheme off the ground and onto site. Listen to hear how a community energy scheme works, the importance of community engagement and local support, both from local government and other local organisations.  Listen to hear how anyone with the passion and people skills can get a scheme off the ground, if they have an idea and suitable roof.  Listen to hear how these community organisations are structured, the importance of shared values and a sense of humour to get you through the low spots. Listen to hear about the opportunities for community energy companies to “Power Up” with investment opportunities and to “Power Down” to provide bespoke advice to help people with their energy bills and energy saving measures. Sarah Burgess | LinkedIn GUCE – Invest in the power of your community Community Energy England - The voice of the community energy sector

    Community Energy – A powerful tool to bring communities together through renewables and energy savings

  4. Aug 18

    Low Carbon Economies and Land Use – Energy, Health and Survival all have the same answer

    Send a Text - Feedback Welcome Prof. Paul Behrens is the face chosen by The National Emergency Briefing to talk about food, land use and climate change.  There can be no one more suited to the job.  Paul is a British Academy Global Professor and works in the Oxford Martin School on sustainability, focusing on climate change, food and energy.   Paul’s messages are clear:  Change your diet, change your diet and change your diet.  You will enjoy better health, you will put less stress on the planet and the impacts of climate change will be less. This simple message belies the amount of research that has gone into this subject.  Listen to this podcast to hear that we will be forced of eating less meat as climate change increases the cost of food.  Given the dietary economics of meat, inflation in meat prices will outstrip that of plant based diets, but the health effects will be significant.  Paul’s message – We can either be in the front foot to bring in these changes and maximise the benefits of change, or we can be forced into the position, with much greater risk to our food supplies and our farming communities. Interestingly, Paul believes that the arguments of land use for renewables are by contrast a side-show.  Yes, they are important to the communities that adopt these technologies, but when the needed change in diet is likely to release a land mass the size of Scotland, then the one percent needed for solar farms is almost insignificant. Listen to Paul’s summary of his research that speed is what must be our focus.  Rapid change will cost us less and bring the benefits to the general population quicker.  It will give farming communities more time to adjust their practices and the systems that support farming to change.  Both farming and energy have a lot to change and time is not on our side! Paul Behrens | LinkedIn National Emergency Briefing Professor Paul Behrens | Oxford University The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science by Paul Behrens | Goodreads

    Low Carbon Economies and Land Use – Energy, Health and Survival all have the same answer

  5. Aug 12

    Banking on Solar: What makes a project investable?

    Send a Text - Feedback Welcome Finance is required for all projects, whether this is provided by the project sponsors or externally through one of many funding institutions.  Thankfully, money is the ultimate universal commodity, however, banks, development banks and other investors all have their own investment parameters and appetite to determine if, how and when a project is bankable and will receive funds. Nik Stone is a Chartered Environmentalist and a member of the Institute of Sustainability & Environmental Professionals.  He is also an advisor to international development banks and has held positions in many of the top funding institutions.  This perspective gives him a great insight into the way that banks work and the ways that developers and project sponsors and their supply chains need to work to de-risk their projects and make them attractive to financiers. Listen to this podcast to hear how funders can influence the risks of the projects that they fund.  Hear about the Equator Principals that guide funding institutions on their behaviour and the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standards that describe minimum standards of ethics and governance on projects.  Nik talks about how these standards have evolved over time to promote better standards and to reduce investment risk.  Hear about the role of development banks, working with Governments, to make the investment environment within a country bankable and possible for the private sector to operate efficiently. Listen for the positive view that funders can support the 8TW target generation that the Global Solar Council is targeting by 2030 and find out the things that developers and sponsors need to do to make their projects bankable. Nik Stone MISEP CEnv | LinkedIn Home Page - Equator Principles Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability | International Finance Corporation (IFC)

    Banking on Solar: What makes a project investable?

  6. Aug 11

    Testicular Cancer – Something that we all need to know about

    Send a Text - Feedback Welcome The Building Podcast is doing something different for its listeners and publicising one of those cancers that affects young men in their prime.  They will be making their way in life and think that they do not have time to stop and think about their health or the implications of illness!  Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged between 20 and 39, but is it highly treatable provided that you catch it early!  Caught early, all most all make a full recovery. Elliott Turner is one of those men with a successful career, young family and who looks after his health, exercising regularly and eating carefully.  Listen to his journey from discovery through treatment to cure from testicular cancer.  Listen to beat the myths surrounding this male only cancer and hear about the support that is readily available to those who are worried and come forward to get checked out. Elliott is pragmatic and honest about the challenges of being really ill, when he had never been ill in his life, about the pressure on his fiancée and young children and the ready support from friends and family.  He talks about the amazing people and support that he has received from our National Health Service and the way that his brush with cancer has changed his outlook on life. Elliott’s message – Testicular cancer can get any man, even if you are fit, healthy and look after yourself.  Check yourself regularly and if you have any concerns or strange symptoms anywhere on your body, then get yourself checked out!  The UK has a free at the point of use health service – Use IT, that is what it is there for!  If you are unlucky, then do not panic!  It might be tough, but you will likely come through emotionally stronger and a lot wiser! Elliott Turner | LinkedIn Testicular cancer - NHS Testicular cancer | Cancer Research UK

  7. Aug 5

    The 'Just Solar Transition' - Is it all about better conversations with our communities?

    Send a Text - Feedback Welcome Large scale solar seeks to change lives for the better, but many communities simply do not have the information or the expectation that they can discover balanced and intelligent knowledge to help them determine and make best value of a local development.   This is the role of the developer who seeks to win permission for a solar or battery development.  Communities can have mistaken views and erroneous information on which they base their opinion.  The developer, through a series of consultations needs to provide balanced information to allow local residents to form their own opinion, based upon all the facts. Alex Kinnear-Mellor is the Head of Corporate Affairs for a Renewable Developer and Independent Power Provider and responsible for winning permissions for their developments.  With a background in marketing fast moving consumer goods she recognises the value of communication on a national scale to win hearts and minds and to replace some of the mis-information that influences the outlook of the general public. Listen to this podcast to hear how an ethical developer approaches consultation with a local community.  Listen to the techniques that they use and the importance of genuine consultation on a granular level dictated by individuals within the community. Listen to this podcast to find out what the industry needs to be doing to improve its image and to "move the dial" slightly to make the population more educated about the benefits of solar and the consequences of ignoring global warming. Alex Kinnear-Mellor | LinkedIn Elements Green - The Leading Global Renewable Energy Experts

    The 'Just Solar Transition' - Is it all about better conversations with our communities?

  8. Jul 31

    Global warming and civil society – What are the impacts on us all?

    Send a Text - Feedback Welcome Lt. General Richard Nugee CB, CVO, CBE is one of the ten experts who present peer reviewed papers as part of the National Emergency Briefing.  His experiences as a soldier inform his views on the implications of national security within the UK and his opinions carry weight.  On this podcast Richard explains the purpose of the National Emergency briefing and the reasons why the film version is aimed at local group, to give them agency and the ability to come together as a community to identify ways to solve the problems. Listen to this podcast to hear the consequences of failed farming around the world, the population movements that this will create and the pressure on all communities as “non-state actors” vie for control of dwindling resources and the consequences for the United Kingdom.  Listen to hear Richard’s real world stories that demonstrated that consequences of global warming and the break-down of civil society. Hear Richard’s call to arms for businesses to imagine life without fossil fuels and to assess their supply networks (not chains) and the resilience measures that they would develop if temperatures increased further, food and water became scarcer and rain was more intermittent and much heavier when it fell.  Image the scenarios, but then recognise that action is needed now! Listen to the podcast to understand why Richard is optimistic, and the opportunities that need to be grasped now to maintain this optimism. Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE | LinkedIn National Emergency Briefing National Emergency Briefing: Overview | LinkedIn

    Global warming and civil society – What are the impacts on us all?
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About

Mark Wakeford is a Director of the National Federation of Builders, Strategy Director of the Global Solar Council and Chair of the West Midlands Solar Taskforce.  He has run a large regional building contractor and now chairs Evoenergy, one of the UK's foremost renewable companies, bringing low carbon solutions to corporate Britain. Mark talks to leading experts from across the construction sector to discuss issues facing the built environment.  He explores various challenges with his guests, who offer solutions, information and ideas that listeners can apply to their own situations, be it in a company, on a project or studying at college. The Building Podcast aims to provide 'CPD on the go'.  Supporting the sector with easily digestible ideas to support a rapidly changing industry! https://www.linked.com/in/markwakeford/ 

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