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Delays at the Building Safety Regulator’s Gateway 3 stage are linked by law firm Irwin Mitchell to 44 undecided schemes and 5,594 completed higher-risk residential units remaining unoccupied, with one case waiting 550 days against an eight‑week target. Of 158 Gateway 3 applications in 2023, 55 took more than three months for a decision, raising concerns over cashflow impacts on developers and handover timing for residents. The BSR disputes the interpretation, stating no new-build higher-risk building that passed Gateway 2 has yet applied for Gateway 3 and that current cases are mainly transitional legacy projects with significant safety issues.

MPs on Parliament’s transport select committee are questioning whether the Railways Bill’s proposed Passengers’ Council will have any real enforcement powers to deliver a fully accessible national rail network. Concerns centre on the council’s ability to compel infrastructure managers and train operators to retrofit step-free access, tactile paving and compliant boarding interfaces across thousands of stations and platforms. For designers and asset owners, the outcome will influence how strongly accessibility standards are mandated in future station upgrades, platform works and rolling stock procurement.

NI 43-101’s standardised technical reports and qualified person requirements stabilised disclosure after Bre-X, but Erik Groves, corporate strategy and in-house counsel at Morgan Companies, argues they now mask chronic diluters whose projects never advance despite repeated financings and high G&A. With Canadian National Policy 51-201 still warning against “sporadic” online rumour correction on chat rooms and bulletin boards, legal advice often keeps issuers off X, YouTube and Reddit while retail investors crowdsource geology and drill-interval analysis. Groves calls for a defined safe harbour allowing video documentation of fieldwork, plain-language geological reasoning and public misinformation correction, without pre-releasing material results or implying unsupported resources.

New South Wales has introduced a bill to make its Demerit Point Reward Program permanent, following a trial that began in 2023 to encourage safer driving behaviour. The scheme rewards motorists who avoid new offences over a defined period by restoring demerit points, directly affecting licence suspension thresholds and enforcement loads on the road network. For road and traffic engineers, the programme’s permanence would lock in a behavioural lever that can be modelled alongside physical safety upgrades, speed zoning and enforcement camera placement.

The Planning Inspectorate is introducing new digital tools and revised procedures to speed up consenting for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), aiming to cut overall examination and decision times while maintaining statutory consultation requirements. Measures include expanded use of online portals for document submission and evidence management, greater standardisation of environmental impact assessment templates, and earlier issue resolution through structured pre-application engagement. For major energy, transport and water schemes, faster and more predictable Development Consent Order timelines could materially reduce holding costs, contractor mobilisation risks and programme float tied to planning uncertainty.

Fellow and risk specialist John Carpenter has resigned from the Institution of Civil Engineers, issuing an open letter criticising what he calls the ICE’s “lack of adequate response” to the Grenfell Tower fire. Carpenter, a long-standing member with recognised expertise in risk management, argues the institution has failed to provide sufficiently robust professional guidance on fire safety, cladding and high-rise residential design. His departure signals growing pressure on professional bodies to tighten competency standards and technical leadership on life-safety critical infrastructure.

Canada’s critical minerals push is lagging US urgency, with Washington proposing a US$12‑billion “Project Vault” stockpile and even floating single‑month permitting for strategic mines, while Canadian approvals remain “glacial”. Anthony Vaccaro argues Canada’s C$4‑billion Critical Minerals Strategy, 26 G7 Production Alliance-backed investments and talk of a Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund still lack the execution speed needed to convert world-class lithium, graphite, nickel and rare earth deposits into processing capacity. He warns that without rapid permitting reform and Arctic infrastructure – ports, rail, grids and logistics – Canada risks ceding geopolitical leverage to China and faster-moving allies.

Ministers are being pressed by the House of Commons transport select committee to spell out how the Railways Bill will actually deliver the government’s long-term rail investment pipeline under Great British Railways, warning that current proposals give only a “partial picture” of future schemes. MPs want clarity on how enhancements, renewals and major projects will be prioritised and funded within GBR’s structure, and how this links to existing control periods and the Integrated Rail Plan. For designers and contractors, the committee flags that opaque governance and funding rules risk delaying project development and supply chain planning.

Government plans to overhaul construction apprenticeships by introducing “sampling” in competence-based assessment, cutting mandatory skills and knowledge criteria in trades such as carpentry and joinery by 60–70% from the current 70 items, and allowing end point assessment organisations to design their own processes. British Woodworking Federation chief executive Helen Hewitt warns this conflicts with Building Safety Act competence requirements, jeopardises CSCS recognition and risks undertrained workers handling life-safety products like fire doors. More than 30 organisations in the Construction Coalition have already forced a pause on the reforms, but employers are delaying apprentice recruitment amid ongoing uncertainty.

RICS has overhauled its continuing professional development framework for 130,000 members, shifting to a flexible, outcomes-based system that explicitly covers artificial intelligence, net zero building assessments and climate risk analysis. The framework responds to feedback that many chartered surveyors qualified before exposure to AI-powered valuation tools or structured climate-related due diligence, raising concerns over competence in current regulatory and ESG contexts. A new RICS member app, now rolling out globally, logs CPD hours, issues reminders and links learning activity to demonstrable professional accountability and public-interest protection.

British Columbia has appealed a December 2025 ruling that found its Mineral Tenure Act breaches consultation duties by allowing mineral claims staking on Gitxaała and Ehattesaht territories without prior First Nations engagement. The 3 February filing to the Supreme Court of Canada argues the appeals court misapplied B.C.’s 2019 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and risks giving UNDRIP “quasi-constitutional status”, creating a “parallel universe of litigation”. Premier David Eby plans DRIPA amendments this spring after talks with First Nations, while leaders including Gitxaała Chief Councillor Linda Innes warn rushed reforms could weaken enforceable rights over exploration permitting.

National Apprenticeship Week is being used by engineering and technology leaders to push for a more robust apprenticeship system to supply site-ready technicians, civil engineers and project managers for major UK infrastructure schemes such as HS2 and the Lower Thames Crossing. Commentators argue that current funding rules and levy constraints are limiting uptake by SMEs in ground engineering, rail and highways, despite strong demand for Level 3–6 apprentices in disciplines like geotechnical design, digital construction and materials testing. For practitioners, the message is to engage directly with training providers and use the levy more aggressively to secure future skills pipelines.

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable is calling for a major overhaul of the skilled migration system to ease what she describes as a mining workforce “crunch”, particularly in engineering, geoscience and critical minerals processing roles. The MCA wants faster visa processing, clearer pathways for experienced overseas professionals, and better recognition of mining-specific qualifications to support projects in remote regions such as the Pilbara and North Queensland. Persistent shortages in drill and blast engineers, metallurgists and underground supervisors are already delaying project timelines and driving up labour costs.

US mineral supply chains became more exposed in 2025, with the USGS reporting 100% import reliance for 16 of 90 tracked non-fuel commodities and more than 50% reliance for 54 minerals, up from 15 and 46 respectively in 2024. The US is totally dependent on imports of arsenic, natural graphite, manganese, niobium, tantalum, titanium sponge and 10 other minerals, with China supplying nearly half of arsenic and graphite, 55% of antimony and 70% of rare earths. In response, the Trump administration has proposed a $12 billion critical minerals stockpile and a JD Vance-led allied trade bloc, while industry warns US mine permitting still averages 29 years.

The UK Treasury has issued a slimmed‑down Green Book, revising the appraisal rules that govern billions of pounds of public investment in transport, flood defences and other major infrastructure. The update is intended to give “overlooked” regions a stronger case in cost‑benefit analysis by rebalancing how wider economic impacts, distributional effects and place‑based regeneration are valued alongside pure benefit–cost ratios. Civil and geotechnical schemes in lower‑income or lower‑productivity areas could now score better in business cases for road upgrades, rail links and resilience works.

Profit warnings from FTSE Construction & Materials companies more than trebled in 2025, rising to 18 from five in 2024, with 33% of listed firms issuing at least one warning – the highest level since the 33 alerts seen in 2020. EY-Parthenon attributes 50% of these warnings to contract and order cancellations or delays, with policy change and geopolitical uncertainty cited in 28% and rising costs in 17%. Increasing regulatory complexity around the Building Safety Act, legacy liabilities and labour shortages are eroding margins and straining working capital across project supply chains.

Western Australia has moved to cap the royalty rate for vanadium products at 5 per cent of the realised value, giving long-term fiscal certainty to developers in a state that hosts the world’s largest share of economic demonstrated vanadium resources. The decision is aimed at projects such as the Australian Vanadium Project near Meekatharra and Technology Metals Australia’s Murchison Technology Metals Project, both targeting vanadium pentoxide for steel alloys and grid-scale vanadium redox flow batteries. For geotechnical and civil teams, the clearer cost base may accelerate approvals, detailed design and construction scheduling for associated open pits, tailings storage and processing plants.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has ruled out any changes to Australia’s Diesel Fuel Tax Credit scheme, rejecting calls from climate and budget advocates to wind back the rebate on off-road diesel use by miners and other heavy industries. Speaking from Washington, King framed the credit as critical to the cost base of remote operations that rely on high-horsepower diesel fleets, haul trucks and fixed plant, particularly where grid power or gas is unavailable. The decision preserves a major operating-cost lever for open-pit and underground mines while potentially slowing any near-term shift away from diesel-powered equipment.

US, EU, Japan and Mexico will develop coordinated critical minerals action plans featuring border‑adjusted price floors and a prospective binding plurilateral trade agreement, following a Washington DC ministerial hosted by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio with officials from over 50 countries. A US‑EU‑Japan memorandum of understanding is due within 30 days, while a separate US‑Mexico 60‑day plan will identify specific mining, processing and manufacturing projects and explore price floors. The push coincides with President Donald Trump’s proposed nearly $12 billion US critical minerals stockpile and precedes the US‑Mexico‑Canada trade agreement review.

Industrial relations in UK construction are under scrutiny as Bishop & Taylor examine current disputes, bargaining structures and how site-level behaviour is shaped by national agreements. The podcast also questions the consistency of health and safety sentencing, comparing penalties for similar breaches under the Sentencing Council’s guidelines and their impact on contractor risk management. A detailed discussion of what constitutes a “Tier One contractor” explores turnover thresholds, direct delivery capability and how these definitions affect framework eligibility and supply chain structuring.

A major UK pensions firm is urging government to reform planning rules so housing, energy and water infrastructure can be delivered faster and provide a more “investable” long‑term pipeline. Proposals include charging objectors to lodge planning objections, tightening time limits on judicial review, and reducing scope for repeat challenges by small activist or single‑issue groups. For engineers, the changes would aim to cut multi‑year delays on nationally significant infrastructure projects, improving programme certainty and financing conditions for large capital schemes.

Welsh Government has issued a green paper proposing “once‑in‑a‑generation” reforms to water governance in Wales, signalling potential structural changes to how water resources, wastewater and flood risk are regulated and managed. The proposals could reshape the roles of Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru), Natural Resources Wales and local authorities in asset planning, abstraction control and river basin management. Civil and water engineers should expect future shifts in consenting, resilience standards and long‑term investment planning for treatment works, drainage networks and flood defences.

The Minerals Council of Australia is pushing for a Victorian mining growth plan centred on school outreach, TAFE pathways and university places in geoscience, metallurgy and mining engineering, alongside faster permitting. Recommendations include streamlining approvals under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act, expanding regional training hubs near centres such as Bendigo and Ballarat, and aligning curricula with mine automation and critical minerals processing. For operators, the agenda signals potential relief on project lead times but also a need to engage earlier with education providers to secure skilled labour.

Australasian Railway Association has issued new recommendations on how federal financial support should be structured for state and territory rail infrastructure, linking funding models to measurable growth in revenue, jobs and wider economic output. The submission calls for more predictable, long‑term Commonwealth commitments to multi‑year rail programmes, rather than ad‑hoc project grants, to stabilise supply chains and specialist labour. For engineers and contractors, the proposals signal a push towards larger, programmatic rail packages and clearer investment pipelines for works such as Inland Rail sections and station precinct upgrades.

US President Donald Trump has created a US$12 billion federal minerals stockpile and accelerated mine permitting and project funding, moves Ivanhoe Mines founder Robert Friedland says have left “the morale of the miners…sky high”. Friedland credited the US Export-Import Bank’s indication of up to US$825 million in long-term debt for Ivanhoe Electric’s Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona and thanked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for backing critical minerals developments. The event, held in the Oval Office with industry leaders including General Motors CEO Mary Barra, signals continued policy support for US copper and rare earths supply chains.

The US Government has launched a US$12 billion strategic critical minerals reserve, mirroring Australia’s national stockpile approach to secure supplies of lithium, rare earths and other battery and defence inputs. Funding will support long-term offtake contracts, stockpiling and processing capacity within US borders, reducing exposure to Chinese-controlled refining and midstream bottlenecks. For Australian miners, particularly in spodumene, nickel and rare earth projects, the move signals stronger demand for US-aligned supply with potential for co-funded downstream processing and joint venture refineries.

US Department of Energy has issued a Request for Information inviting US states to host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses covering fuel fabrication, enrichment, used-fuel reprocessing and waste disposition across the full nuclear fuel cycle. Depending on regional capabilities, campuses could also integrate advanced reactor deployment, power generation, advanced manufacturing and co-located data centres, with states asked to specify priorities such as workforce development, infrastructure investment and economic diversification. Responses, including proposed funding structures, risk-sharing mechanisms and federal partnership models, are due by 1 April 2026.

Mining industry bodies including the Minerals Council of Australia are pushing back against a proposed cut to the federal Diesel Fuel Tax Credit scheme, which currently rebates most of the 48.8c/L fuel excise for off‑road uses such as haul trucks and mine power generation. They argue removing or reducing the credit would sharply increase operating costs for remote open‑cut and underground sites reliant on high‑horsepower diesel fleets and off‑grid generators. Industry groups warn this could accelerate mine closures, defer brownfield expansions and undermine investment in new projects.

British Columbia will from 1 April process mineral exploration permits within 40–140 days, with any files breaching the service standard escalated to the chief permitting officer for a decision within 14 days, after exploration spending reached a record C$751 million in 2025. The province is allocating C$3 million, including C$1 million to increase permitting capacity and C$2 million to improve the Mineral Claims Consultation Framework, which has been a key bottleneck. Minister Jagrup Brar cited recent approvals at Skeena’s C$713-million Eskay Creek restart and Centerra’s Mt. Milligan expansion to 2035 as proof the system can move faster while maintaining First Nations consultation.

Government officials working on UK Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) are detailing how a revised consenting regime is intended to tackle long-standing issues such as multi-year Development Consent Order delays and repeated statutory consultation rounds. The new rules focus on streamlining approvals for large schemes like nationally significant road corridors, offshore wind arrays and strategic water resources by tightening examination timetables and clarifying requirements for environmental impact assessments. For civil and geotechnical teams, the changes signal earlier certainty on design envelopes, land acquisition and ground investigation phasing, but also less tolerance for late design changes or incomplete baseline data.

Tether’s reported accumulation of roughly 140 tonnes of physical gold in Swiss underground-vaults converted from nuclear shelters, with purchases at times above $1 billion per week, is presented by Erik Groves, corporate strategy lead and in-house counsel at Morgan Companies, as a signal of growing unease with fiat-based reserve systems. He argues that both a re-gold-backed US dollar and a proposed gold-backed BRICS currency would still be constrained by domestic politics, repeating Bretton Woods’ core flaw. The op-ed points instead to a non-sovereign, gold-backed stablecoin combining gold’s reserve credibility with crypto settlement rails as a more durable anchor for global trade.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Nation told the AME Roundup conference that meaningful reconciliation in British Columbia mining requires shared decision-making, recognition of Indigenous law and early engagement under DRIPA and UNDRIP. She warned that a large portion of Stk̓emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation territory is already staked through the province’s online mineral tenure system, often without consent, and that crown reserves frequently overlap culturally and environmentally sensitive areas. Casimir cited New Gold’s Afton copper-gold mine and the Ajax proposal to stress that SSN is not anti-mining, but will oppose projects in high-impact locations and expects proponents with claims to initiate early, relationship-based consultation.

East West Rail (EWR) will run a full public consultation on the remaining sections of the Oxford–Cambridge route even though the Planning and Infrastructure Bill removes the statutory requirement for such engagement. The commitment covers outstanding route options between Bedford and Cambridge, where alignments, junction layouts and land-take for new double-track sections and structures are still to be finalised. For designers and geotechnical teams, this signals continued scrutiny of earthworks, noise barriers, level crossing closures and settlement impacts on adjacent communities before Development Consent Order submission.

Civil engineering contractors, through the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, have urged the Competition & Markets Authority’s road and rail market study to push harder for early contractor involvement, outcome-based specifications and frameworks tied to clear, funded pipelines with minimum workload commitments. CECA wants procurement to move away from lowest-price weighting towards whole-life value, with objectively scored criteria for quality, deliverability, safety culture, carbon reduction and social value. The response also calls for streamlined regulatory approvals for new products and techniques, consistent national standards, and stronger commercial and engineering skills within client bodies.

Chile has released a National Critical Minerals Strategy that classifies 14 minerals into three groups, with copper, lithium, molybdenum and rhenium in “category A”, where Chile already supplies 23%, 20.4%, 14.6% and 46.8% of global output respectively. Consultants note category A growth will mainly come from brownfield expansions, while new streams such as cobalt, rare earths, selenium and tellurium will require greenfield social and environmental approvals and stronger state capacity. Lawyers and analysts stress the strategy is not law, lacks concrete near-term production commitments for minerals like cobalt and rare earths, and its impact will hinge on a forthcoming action plan, permitting performance and institutional execution.

A proposed amendment to the UK Railways Bill to devolve control of rail infrastructure and services to the Welsh Government has been rejected, prolonging disputes between Westminster and the Senedd over chronic underinvestment in routes such as the South Wales Main Line and Valleys commuter network. The decision leaves Network Rail and Great British Railways, rather than Transport for Wales, as primary decision-makers on track renewals, signalling upgrades and capacity enhancements. For civil and rail engineers, major schemes like electrification, station remodelling and resilience works will continue to be planned and funded through UK-wide, not devolved, budgets.

The UK’s National Wealth Fund has set a five‑year plan to deploy its remaining capital by 2030/31 and catalyse over £100bn of private and public investment into UK companies, infrastructure and supply chains. Funding is expected to target grid upgrades, large‑scale renewables and industrial decarbonisation projects, alongside manufacturing and logistics capacity in critical supply chains. Civil and geotechnical contractors should anticipate more pipeline visibility on major schemes and tighter alignment with national net zero and resilience objectives.

Skanska UK president and CEO Katy Dowding backs the new government’s infrastructure agenda as “bold” and rates it “10 out of 10” on intent, while warning that delivery certainty will be the real test. She points to long-term, multi-year public sector pipelines and consistent procurement models as critical to stabilising major programmes in transport, healthcare and education. For contractors and consultants, she signals that predictable funding profiles and earlier supply chain engagement will be central to controlling risk, costs and schedule performance.

Germany is facing renewed political pressure to repatriate about 1,200 tonnes of gold currently stored at the New York Federal Reserve, worth roughly $128 billion at this week’s record price above $5,100/oz. Former Bundesbank research head Emanuel Mönch and European Taxpayers Association chief Michael Jäger argue that Trump’s renewed presidency, aggressive trade stance and even pressure to seize Greenland make US vault storage strategically unsafe. Ifo Institute president Clemens Fuest counters that large-scale transfers from New York, London and Paris could strain transatlantic relations and trigger wider financial repercussions.

Formaldehyde limits for MDF and other wood-based panels in the EU will tighten on 6 August 2026 under Annex XVII of REACH, cutting the emission threshold from E1 (0.124mg/m³) to E05 (0.062mg/m³), with the same rules applying in Northern Ireland but not Great Britain. Irish producer Medite Smartply says all MEDITE MDF will meet the E05 limit by early April 2026, four months ahead of the deadline, and will issue updated declarations of performance, safety data sheets and product datasheets. CPR markings will still state E1, with supporting documentation used to evidence E05 compliance, so UK specifiers will need to check paperwork rather than labels.

British Columbia is adding C$3 million to shore up mineral claims permitting, with C$1 million for extra Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals staff to enforce fixed timelines and C$2 million to bolster the Mineral Claims Consultation Framework (MCCF) launched in March 2025. The move comes as mineral exploration spending hits a record C$750.9 million, yet MCCF decisions are averaging 127 days against a 90–120 day target and mineral claims staking has fallen 29%, with a 60% drop in area staked versus the seven-year average. AME CEO Todd Stone said the funding is critical for prospectors and juniors seeking predictable approvals.

A £2.4bn reduction in the Department for Transport’s capital spending line between the 2021 Spending Review and the Autumn Budget is being attributed by the Government to “accounting changes” rather than cuts to planned schemes. The shift appears in Treasury tables covering multi‑year allocations for rail enhancements, major road upgrades and local transport settlements, raising concern among project sponsors over how much funding is actually available in cash terms. For civil contractors and consultants, the uncertainty complicates pipeline planning, framework bidding and resourcing for long‑lead schemes.

A proposed amendment to the Railways Bill that would have required Great British Railways to commit to a rolling programme of mainline electrification was rejected by the House of Commons Bill committee. Ministers argued that mandating continuous overhead line installation in primary legislation is “not the right way”, favouring case‑by‑case schemes instead. The decision prolongs uncertainty for track designers, bridge clearance modellers and traction power planners seeking long‑term programmes for 25kV AC upgrades and associated civil works.

Pope Leo XIV met more than a dozen mining and energy leaders at the Vatican, including BHP’s Mike Henry, Vale’s Gustavo Pimenta, Ivanhoe Mines’ Robert Friedland and Sigma Lithium’s Ana Cabral, to press for “integral ecology” and stricter ethical standards in resource extraction. The session, under the Building Bridges Initiative and linked to projects such as Borgo Laudato Si’, focused on human rights, decent work and environmental justice in critical minerals supply chains. Leo cited coltan from the DRC as emblematic of minerals enabling modern devices but tied to paramilitary violence, child labour and community displacement.

A new digital Built Environment Competence Hub has been launched by the British Standards Institution (BSI) to clarify how competence requirements are defined and applied across UK construction and infrastructure projects. The online resource is intended to help dutyholders interpret evolving regulatory obligations, particularly around building safety and competence frameworks introduced after the Building Safety Act. For geotechnical, structural and civil engineers, it centralises guidance on role-specific competence expectations, supporting more consistent documentation for audits, procurement and regulatory submissions.

The First-tier Tribunal has ruled that any risk, however small, of fire spread or structural failure can constitute a “building safety risk” under s.120 of the Building Safety Act 2022, in a case concerning the 280-apartment Canary Riverside estate (Belgrave Court, Berkeley Tower, Eaton House and Hanover House). In applications for Remediation Orders and Remediation Contribution Orders over seven external wall systems, six were found to contain relevant defects, with reconstituted stone cladding the sole exception. The Tribunal prioritised current compliance with Building Regulations B3 and B4 and Approved Document B over historic regulatory compliance or PAS 9980 “low” risk ratings, finding missing or defective cavity barriers in masonry cavity walls with phenolic insulation (EWT1) to be a relevant defect.

MPs on the House of Commons public accounts committee have urged ministers to refer the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) insulation scandal to the Serious Fraud Office after the National Audit Office found 98% of external and 29% of internal wall insulation installed by mid‑January 2025 was defective. Ofgem has so far identified fraudulent installations worth 1.75% of scheme value, but PAC members believe actual fraud is far higher, citing systemic failure across DESNZ, TrustMark and UKAS, and a fragmented quality-assurance regime. The committee warns that the new Warm Homes Plan, expected to scale up measures such as solar PV and further retrofit, must be backed by far tighter technical oversight and accountability to avoid repeating these failures.

Government policy is set to dominate mining investment in 2026, with 47% of respondents to White & Case’s Mining & Metals 2026 survey citing political variables and nearly 40% expecting state‑backed financing to be the main tool in developed markets. Some 73% foresee widening divergence between US and Chinese critical minerals policy, while a funding gap between the US and Europe is seen as a key opportunity, alongside risks of over‑expansion and a two‑to‑three‑year “gold rush” bubble. Copper and gold are viewed as the “sure bet” price risers, with gold miners seen as prime consolidation targets and strategic partnerships favoured over traditional M&A.

Sustainability reporting in construction is described as fragmented and inconsistent, with project disclosures difficult to compare and data quality varying widely across contractors and asset owners. This patchwork approach is exposing schemes to reputational, regulatory and operational risk, particularly as clients demand verifiable carbon footprints, lifecycle assessments and supply chain traceability aligned with frameworks such as the GHG Protocol and EU taxonomy. For geotechnical and civil engineers, the direction of travel points to standardised metrics on embodied carbon in concrete and steel, site energy use and materials sourcing becoming routine contract requirements.

JCB technical service director Phil Layton has begun a two-year term as president of the Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE), representing the UK’s Construction Equipment Association. Layton plans to prioritise decarbonisation of construction machinery fleets, support for open global markets and a more competitive regulatory framework for European OEMs. CECE’s immediate policy push targets EU secondary legislation on road circulation of construction machinery and a guidance document for implementing the new Machinery Regulation, ahead of the CECE congress in London on 27–29 October.