In an era marked by environmental challenges and the need for sustainable development, TEDxQUB’s ‘Reimagine’ event, set to take place on Wednesday, 6th December at Riddel Hall, presents a platform for innovative ideas and visionary thinking.

Among the distinguished speakers is Dr. Siobhan Cox, a Senior Lecturer in Environmental and Civil Engineering, who is poised to deliver a thought-provoking talk on ‘Reimagining Construction’.

The website describes her talk as: “A recent study gave us the disconcerting news that as a global society we are exceeding 6 of the 9 planetary boundaries that maintain the stability and resilience of our Earth.

“That means we aren’t just pumping too many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we are also overloading our watercourses with nutrients, polluting the world with synthetic chemicals, over-extracting natural resources and interfering with precious ecosystems.  Coupled with this, our understanding of the interrelatedness of all of these systems is increasing.

“We now know we won’t save our planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone, we need to support and preserve biodiversity and global ecosystems.

“Construction provides vital infrastructure to allow the social needs of the people on our planet to be met, and will be essential if we are to achieve our sustainable development goals.  However, the built environment also contributes 40% of energy and process-related CO2 emissions, is responsible for 50% of extracted materials and generates 35% of waste.

“This TEDx talk will reflect on how construction will radically change in coming decades and will reimagine a world where construction provides not just social benefits, but also environmental advantages.”

To book tickets to this event go to >> https://www.qub.ac.uk/public-engagement/TEDxQUB/Reimagine