CEWales E Bulletin September 22
What is the Chinese proverb? May you live in interesting times. It is not what it seems, it is a veiled message to adversaries, wishing them ill. But how we respond to ‘interesting times’ marks us out as leaders, influencers, and shapes how our respective organisations will fare in the future.
I would urge you to read all our newsletter, obviously, but if you choose two articles then go to the piece about net zero and the G4C article from our co-chairs, Harriet, and Jia.
Both are excellent, and each point to the future. Now is not the time to dwell in the past or wish for what might have been. Now is the time to innovate, collaborate and seek out better, new ways of operating so we build a Wales fit for future generations. For me, Net Zero, despite its critics, confusion around targets and definitions and implied costs, is a no brainer. I do not say that lightly. We have a duty to our children to and not just our communities to build a sustainable Wales. We must accept the challenge – it is our moral and ethical duty to decarbonise and take bold steps towards net zero.
Importantly, if you drill down into the detail the path to net zero is one littered with opportunities for our industry. Why? Because so much of the changes to how we live, work, learn, shop and play require our sector to design, engineer, build and maintain to enable these behaviour changes to be part of everyday life.
Many of you will join me in celebrating the life of our late Queen, Elizabeth II. You will have sent messages of sympathy to her family and wished good luck to our new King. You might also have looked back on the reign of the Queen. If you did you would have seen how many new buildings, hospitals, schools, bridges, and roads she opened, products tested, vehicles driven many of which were part of our construction industry. Many of you will have personal memories of Her Majesty and it has been lovely reading the tributes from some of the stalwarts of our sector from organisations such as Wates, Sir Robert McAlpine, and bodies like the CIOB and clients such as Crossrail – whose Elizabeth line is named after the monarch.
Elizabeth II had seen everything in 70-years as Queen. Not much fazed her. Her positive attitude is something we all need to learn from and adopt.