Rachel Skinner’s ICE year: decarbonisation and design lessons for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
Outgoing ICE president Rachel Skinner reflects on a year of engagement with members across UK regions and international centres, focusing on conversations around climate resilience, net zero delivery and digital design in infrastructure. Site visits ranged from major tunnelling works and coastal defences to complex brownfield regeneration schemes, giving direct feedback on how engineers are applying PAS 2080 principles, BIM workflows and low‑carbon materials on live projects. Her reflections emphasise the value of cross‑disciplinary collaboration within ICE to accelerate practical decarbonisation and climate‑adaptation measures in everyday civil engineering practice.
Technical Brief
- For similar programmes, structured presidential visits can act as rolling technical audits of real‑world delivery practice.
Our Take
New Civil Engineer appears repeatedly in our database as a convenor of early-careers and innovation initiatives (Heathrow innovation competition, Bridges Challenge, awards judging), so an ICE presidency engaging closely with NCE can materially shape how younger practitioners encounter themes like sustainability and digital delivery.
The institutional continuity implied by a one‑year, sequential ICE presidency (now at number 161) means any emphasis this president places on community and professional dialogue with outlets like New Civil Engineer can realistically be embedded into committee work and award criteria rather than remaining a purely personal platform.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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