Futurebuild 2026 (12-14 May at Excel, London) is inviting visionary thinking from the next generation of industry professionals to tackle the green skills gap for a built and natural environment led by sustainability.
LinkedIn’s latest Green Skills Report, highlights that the global workforce is not equipped to sustain the climate transition. This is relevant in particular to the construction sector. Futurebuild is compiling a conference programme to give passionate young professionals a voice to share knowledge and tools.
“The Arena Conference is designed to bring strategy and delivery together in a way that feels relevant to the challenges in the industry. It’s important that we give young professionals the platform to influence how we respond to some of the biggest challenges of our time,” says Event Director, Martin Hurn.
What the conference will include
The session Chair, Simon Rayner, a Policy Analyst at the Climate Change Committee, is posing the question: ‘What should 2030+ look like?’ to a panel of ambitious Futurebuild 2026 speakers.
Participants include the Building the Future Awards’ Young Planner of the Year 2025, Munashe Mhemba. Also, Darcy Arnold-Jones, circular economy lead at architectural practice, Marks Barfield.
Also joining the discussion are Kimberley Ertl, an Engineer and Senior Sustainability Consultant at Expedition Engineering and Thomas Yunqing Bai, an Associate at Ares Landscape Architects and a member of the LI Knowledge and Practice Committee. Alongside Ahmed Gilani, VP Construction Society and University of Reading and Constructionarium alumnus.
“I have a keen interest in climate conscious design. As a member of the Circular Do Tank, ACAN and The Edge, I’m proud have some influence on the future of our profession. I implore anyone coming into the industry to leverage platforms, like Futurebuild. It helps to establish cross-disciplinary collaboration and connections that allow for continual and collective improvement,” says architect Darcy Arnold-Jones. She has experience in regenerative design and retrofit, and specialises in material reuse and whole life carbon.
Young professionals are being given a voice over several stages across Futurebuild’s Main Conference and The National Retrofit arenas. They will also be seen throughout its CPD-accredited knowledge programme.
A new fringe event being run by a collective of industry groups including ACAN, Architects Declare and Arc, is providing a dedicated platform for up-and-comers. They will play a part in delivering content their peers care about and can act upon.
Organisers have strategically collaborated with UK Construction Week London and The Stone & Surfaces Show. Visitors can access 700+ high profile speakers across 11 stages.
