UKREiiF 2024: An Insider’s Look with Sophia Cressey, our Sustainability Consultant
In the lead up to UKREiiF 2024, we caught up with Sophia Cressey, our Sustainability Consultant, who will once again be attending the Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure event this month. Here, she offers insights into last year’s experience and shares her predictions for the 2024 event.
How did you find the event last year?
The event surpassed my expectations, it was much larger than I expected with over 500 speakers covering a wide range of topics, from ESG strategy and Greening the Built Environment, to discussing plans for cities to promote sustainability in future developments, as well as the increasing need for consideration of Biodiversity net gain in planning requirements. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with other professionals within different sectors of the industry, and the convergence of ideas and expertise being shared sparked invaluable conversations.
What inspired you most last year?
It was a privilege to attend the Innovations Arc Safari last year, the walk around offered a guided networking tour around Leeds which was truly inspiring. We were able to see how the city plans to connect some of Leeds’ most innovative assets to produce more space for creativity and collaboration, so it’s fantastic to see some of the directions and actions being taken for potential future projects – there’s a lot of exciting growth and development ahead.
What are you most excited about for this year?
There are even more talks and events this year than the last, promising deeper dives into crucial themes, so I’m excited about this year’s event!
Events like Building Female’s ‘Leading the Change: Women in Sustainability' offer unique perspectives and insights, and last years’ experience was truly enriching, so I'm eager to reconnect again with like-minded individuals who are driving change and inspiring inclusion within the industry.
This year, I’m particularly looking forward to delving into discussions surrounding Net Zero Buildings, ESG, Circular economy, Embodied Carbon and WLCA. Additionally, I’m excited to attend some of the fringe events taking place, including the Women in Construction Nottingham and Lincolnshire Fringe Event.
What are your thoughts on UKREiiF encouraging the younger generation to attend?
I think it’s brilliant that UKREiiF offers complimentary attendance for individuals under the age of 25, alongside the purchase of five full-price tickets; it’s a great incentive! Having the younger generation attend these kinds of events, injecting fresh perspectives, and adding valuable input into crucial discussions, not only ensures a contemporary evolution of initiatives but also offers diverse representation.
Moreover, it creates a fantastic opportunity to engage with new talent across varying sectors, helping to build and form dynamic relationships.
Meet the rest of the UKREiiF team and book in a chat now.