Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory impact and case studies

Sustainable Foundations – Decarbonising the Construction Sector
Hosted by LCEI and LiRICS

LCEI, together with LiRICS, welcomed businesses from the construction sector to LJMU for their Sustainable Foundations workshop.

The event brought together industry and academics to discuss challenges and solutions for SMEs in construction and built environment, as the sector transitions towards a more sustainable future.

Guests heard from Dr Colm Bowe, head of LJMU’s Liverpool Research Institute for Climate and Sustainability (LiRICS) and the Natural Capital Hub at LJMU, who discussed the ‘green economy’ – how investing in nature boosts economic growth. He explored how businesses can get involved in schemes to support biodiversity, alongside nature as critical infrastructure in building resilience to climate extremes.

Matt Breakwell, Director of Sales and ESG at Kimpton Ltd, talked about the environmental and regulatory landscape shaping the sector right now, and Nia Prys-Williams, Head of Environmental Sustainability and Energy Services at LJMU, outlined how the university has addressed biodiversity and decarbonisation across its buildings and operations, and the progress made towards LJMU’s Net Zero 2035 goal.

Finally, guests heard from Dr Fiona Borthwick, Subject Head, School of Engineering and Built Environment, highlighting the potential of industrialised construction, digital systems and modular building techniques to address future housing needs.

Guests were taken on a tour of Byrom Street facilities – including engineering workshops, BEST labs, the Maritime Simulator and BRE test houses – to showcase the breadth of research capabilities in HEI and how it can be applied to problem-solving in industry.

LCEI Project Manager Lesley Lambert said: “The construction sector is facing significant challenges as it adapts to new environmental requirements, technological advances and changing regulations. This workshop provided a valuable opportunity for SMEs to hear from experts across academia and industry, share experiences, and explore practical solutions to support their decarbonisation journey.

“One of the strengths of LCEI is bringing together businesses and researchers to tackle real-world challenges collaboratively. The discussions throughout the day highlighted the importance of innovation, knowledge exchange and partnership working in helping the sector meet the challenges of a changing sector and build resilience for the future.”

Head of LiRICS Colm Bowe said: “It is only through working with businesses and other external partners that we will create the opportunities and address the challenges in the transition to a thriving net zero and nature positive economy.

“At LiRICS we are keen to bring expertise from across subject areas from science, technology, arts, business and education to support innovation in construction and other sectors and help solve the tricky questions. By supporting innovation we can help to ease the transition to sustainable practice being business as usual for every organisation.

“This event is a great example of how we can grow our existing strength at LJMU in collaborative and externally facing research and knowledge exchange activity across the institution.”

LCEI and LiRICS will continue to develop links with industry and keep the conversation with businesses open – fostering collaboration, innovation and decarbonisation.

LCEI shows its Green Impact

LCEI took part in the SOS UK Green Impact Challenge 2026 at Liverpool John Moores University.

It was a close-run competition between teams within the university, but LCEI was delighted to come top of the leaderboard and take home a Gold Award.

Using the Green Impact online toolkit, LCEI completed various activities to improve the sustainability of our team and working environment.

We tightened up green practices in the office – from logging fridge temperatures, conducting a recycling audit and unplugging devices when not in use, to reducing food and water waste and using wi-fi instead of mobile data where possible.

The team’s wellbeing was also boosted – we took nature walks, introduced desk plants, took the stairs instead of the lift (getting our steps in!) and cleared out the office.

LCEI is an environmentally aware team, and we all mostly walk or take public transport to work, but the Green Impact campaign pushed us even more to leave the car at home.

We ensure our events are as sustainable as possible, encourage visitors to use green travel methods, and seek out sustainable materials in our promotional items. We use reusable cups and dishes and monitor lights and temperature in the office to reduce energy use.

Congratulations to our researcher Dr Cameron Kelly for receiving a special Sustainability Heros award in recognition of his outstanding efforts in leading and driving our Green Impact activities. Thank you, Cam, for your dedication and enthusiasm throughout the challenge and across our project.

We're also proud to have received awards for Environmental Improvement and Community Action.

These awards celebrate not only our efforts as a team, but also our work supporting businesses across the region to reduce carbon emissions and progress towards net zero.

LCEI helps businesses become more sustainable - and we believe it's just as important that we continue to improve our own environmental performance too.

We were thrilled to support this great initiative, and to take home a few awards as well. We look forward to taking part next year and pushing our sustainability even further.