Description
A climate and biodiversity crisis has been declared by organisations across the UK, and within these organisations there are individuals and groups charged with figuring out what to do next. This training course, designed and delivered by Oliver Broadbent and Bengt Cousins-Jenvey, is aimed predominantly at engineers, architects and construction industry professionals leading this charge for their organisations.
An emergency is a state that requires immediate action. The state of emergency has been declared, but, arguably, little action has been taken. What, then, does this state of emergency mean in practice?
In this training course we use models of organisational and cultural change as lenses for working out what an organisation working in a climate emergency needs to look like, and what actions individuals and groups of people can take to drive necessary change.
We use a problem-based learning methodology to help individuals identify the barriers they face to drive change, and to mentor and coach them in making these changes. Principles covered are also applicable to those in sectors beyond the built environment as the course focuses on the task of achieving organisational change in this context of emergency.
We deliver the training course in two parts. Part one comprises of three, two-hour weekly webinars where we cover the content. Part two is the follow-up phase in which we use action based learning to support each other in driving change in our organisations.
Register your interest by dropping us an email.
Session dates
t.b.c. – next sessions likely to start May 2021
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Articulate a high-level summary of the science that has led to the declaration.
- Describe and use a model of cultural change to plan a response to the climate emergency.
- Prioritise actions for each level of the business.
- Build a case for change on the basis of case studies from other organisations and climate science.
- Identify personal and organisational obstacles to change, and develop strategies for overcoming these.
The end goal of this course is to form a community of practice between like-minded people who can support each other in taking the often-challenging steps they need to help their organisations respond to the emergency.
The nature of the problem-based learning method that we use is that within the broad framework of activity described above, the exact content will depend on the unique situation of each of the attendees and the challenges they face. To support us we can draw upon content from the full range of Constructivist training courses and can call upon our network of trainers to add their expertise where needed.
Praise for this course
The support of the group alongside discussion of change models and tools was transformative in developing insight on how I can make positive change and resolve to take action. I would highly recommend it to those seeking to develop personal or organisational strategies in response to the climate emergency. – Julia Ratcliffe
This course is really good for developing the soft skills for tackling the climate emergency. It also provides you with a structured process for developing an action plan that is bespoke to your company, as well as a network of like-minded practitioners to bounce ideas off. Oli and Bengt are very experienced and engaging trainers who ensure everyone gets what they need out of the course. – Jo Dobson
As one of the spring cohort I can really strongly recommend this course. An enlightened and positive approach to tackling seemingly intractable problems. … and a fun way to meet a great bunch of interesting and interested people. What’s not to like? – Nick Francis
Read more testemonials on this blog post.
About the trainers
Oliver Broadbent (From the Institution of Structural Engineer’s website:)
Oliver is an expert facilitator and trainer in design thinking for the built environment. With a background in civil engineering and teaching, he specialises in designing high-impact training that has a lasting effect on the learner.
He is Founder and Director of engineering training consultancy Constructivist. There he leads the development of Constructivist’s programme of design training for design consultancies. His work is focused on helping organisationsl develop creative responses to the climate and biodiversity emergencies. Oliver also works with universities including Cambridge, Bath and Imperial to develop innovative approaches to curriculum design and delivery.
Oliver has co-authored a series of good practice teaching guides for the Royal Academy of Engineering on experience-led learning, e-learning for engineers, effective industrial engagement in engineering education and how to teach sustainability.
He is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London.
Bengt Cousins-Jenvey Sustainable business systems strategist delivering Innovative, collaborative and sustainable business, design and construction
Bengt works with organisations looking for innovative, collaborative and sustainable ways to do things differently that will improve their ‘triple bottom line’ now and in an uncertain future.
Bengt has contributed to new thinking about cities, infrastructure ‘megaprojects’, masterplans, estates, events, buildings, bridges, tents, shoes, clothes, packaging, software and professional services.
As a business strategist Bengt supports decision makers in the public and private sectors (including members of many design and delivery teams) by demystifying the topics of sustainability, the circular economy, carbon foot printing, embodied carbon, quality, productivity, design thinking, systems thinking, life cycle assessment, collaborative working and the processes of research, development, and commercialisation.
