“Perpetual growth on a finite planet can’t be sustainable.”
“The most sustainable building is the one that already exists.”
In this episode, construction leader Saul Humphrey lays out a clear, practical roadmap for a sector that’s still hooked on concrete and quarterly targets. From CLT, glulam and hemp to retrofit-first logic and whole-life value, Saul explains how to cut embodied carbon while improving performance and asset value.
Saul is Senior Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Building and Managing Partner of a certified B Corp consultancy focused on sustainable delivery. He also teaches as a professor of sustainable construction—bringing real-world practice into the classroom.
What we cover:
- Operational vs embodied carbon—why materials now matter most.
- Post-Grenfell realities, regulation and where bio-based materials fit.
- Retrofit over rebuild: reusing what we have before pouring new concrete.
- Supply chains, warranties and the business case (whole-life costs, stranded-asset risk).
- Leadership and legacy: how longer-term decisions protect both planet and profit.
If you’re an architect, developer, investor—or anyone who cares about the built environment—this conversation will arm you with language and levers to push for better.
Guest: Saul Humphrey — Senior Vice President, CIOB; Managing Partner, Saul D Humphrey LLP (B Corp); Professor of Sustainable Construction (Anglia Ruskin).
Listen, share, and join the shift.
#SustainableConstruction #EmbodiedCarbon #RetrofitFirst #TimberArchitecture #CIOB #BCorp