Last month we held our Spring Conference 2025 in Manchester and it was our biggest and best yet. With 76 passionate professionals in the room from all cohorts of the industry, we tackled key challenges in environmental compliance, shared insights, and sparked important conversations.
Key Takeaways
Our Chair, Rebecca Passmore, set the tone with a powerful message: we are facing the biodiversity and climate crises alongside the housing and energy crises, making it all the more critical to balance development and sustainability. We must build at pace but without compromising environmental responsibility. She highlighted the urgent need for clearer site roles and responsibilities, as well as a need for environmental regulatory reform, similar to CDM Regulations for Health & Safety, to better support delivery of environmental obligations, as this will improve accountability and drive environmental compliance.
Another major theme? Contracts influence environmental performance. If commitments aren’t clearly written into contracts, compliance becomes a box-ticking exercise rather than a real driver of change. Stronger, enforceable obligations are key to turning monitoring into meaningful action.
Standout Sessions & Discussions
The day was packed with expert insights, covering everything from water treatment on construction sites to embedding environmental guidance into projects. Some highlights included:
- Richard Baldwin (SSEN Transmission) on Mitigation Monitoring & the Role of an EnvCoW
- Richard Patterson (Mott MacDonald) on Using NEC X29 Contracts to Drive Compliance
- Andrea Purvis & Emily Martin (SP Transmission) on Challenges in Embedding IEMA Mitigation Guidance in Permitted Developments & Operational Sites
- Dan Arnold (Strabag) & Ben Smith (Envirocentre) on Integrating Environmental Considerations in Exploratory Tunnelling
The Q&A panel was another highlight, offering valuable discussions on industry-wide challenges.
Feedback from our delegates was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the depth of discussions, the quality of presentations, and the opportunity to network with like-minded professionals.
Get Involved
If you’re passionate about environmental compliance, now is the time to join our growing network of professionals and become a member of AEnvCoW. Your expertise and support can help shape industry standards and drive real change.
We’re also seeking partners and sponsors to support our mission. Whether through funding, resources, or collaboration, your organisation can help strengthen environmental best practices across the sector.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
A huge thank you to:
- Siltbuster (Headline Sponsor) – Water treatment specialists
- Mudtech Limited (Lunch Sponsor) – Groundwater control experts
- Binnies (Corporate Sponsor) – Environmental consulting leaders
The conference may be over, but the work continues. Stay connected, and we’ll see you next year!
