Ongoing Forum

Innovative Start-Up Forum

UKGBC is convening its Innovative Start-Up Members with representatives from across the built environment value chain to discuss solutions to challenges and enable better collaboration.
Forum
Future opportunity
Birmingham Innovation roundtable

UKGBC has an expanding community of Innovative Start-Up members, who we bring together regularly through this Forum intending to:

  • Create a supportive community of peers to explore shared challenges and the solutions to them. 
  • Connect Innovative Start-Up members with the wider UKGBC corporate membership, facilitating knowledge-sharing and network-building.
  • Proactively engage start-ups in UKGBC activities.
  • Help profile and scale purpose-driven innovators operating in the built environment.

The Forum is a collaborative and informal space, with meetings held on a quarterly basis open to all UKGBC Innovative Start-Up members. During each Forum we also welcome a select number of individuals from the wider UKGBC membership to partake in a panel discussion and Q&A, to knowledge share with our start-up members.

Upcoming meetings:

  • We will update this page with any future Innovative Start-Up Forum events

Previous meetings:

  • “Commercial Project Insights” – 13th February 2025. We heard from UKGBC members who have implemented innovative solutions in their commercial buildings, to share learnings from the implementation process. We also heared about upcoming commercial project opportunities that were open to piloting or implementing innovative solutions. 
  • “Scaling Physical Products and Materials – Workshop” – 7th October 2024. We welcomed our Innovative Start-Up members to discuss the barriers they are facing in relation to scaling up their solutions and how these barriers might be overcome.
  • “Digital Platforms – Workshop” – 9th October 2024. We welcomed our Innovative Start-up members to discuss the barriers they are facing in relation to scaling up their solutions and how these barriers might be overcome.
  • “Meet the Investors” – 18th July 2024. We welcomed a panel of venture capital investors followed by a pre-arranged speed-networking session and informal networking drinks reception.
  • “Meet the Pilot Projects” – 1st May 2024. We welcomed organisations that are trialling solutions on the ground to provide insight to our start-up members.
  • “Meet the Advancing Net Zero Team” – 6th February 2024. We welcomed members of UKGBC’s Advancing Net Zero team to discuss challenges, current reports and guidance, and answer questions.
  • “Meet the Scale-Ups” – 19th October 2023. We welcomed scale-ups seeking to implement sustainable solutions in the built environment to share learnings with our start-ups.
  • “Meet the Investors” – 19th July 2023. Our first in-person event! We welcomed a panel of venture capital investors, followed by a pre-arranged speed-networking session and informal networking drinks reception.
  • “Meet the Sustainability Consultants” – 3rd April 2023. We welcomed WSP, Mott MacDonald, Arup and Atkins.
  • “Meet the Local Authorities” – 10th January 2023. We welcomed Devon County Council, Glasgow City Council, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the West Midlands Combined Authority.
  • “Meet the Contractors” – 27th September 2022. We welcomed ISG, Multiplex Construction Europe and Laing O’Rourke as our guest panellists.
  • “Meet the Architects” – 13th April 2022. We welcomed Penoyre & Prasad, Orms, Bennetts Associates, and SOM as our guest panellists.
  • “Meet the Developers”, 12th January 2022. We welcomed Berkeley Homes, Transport for London, Grosvenor, and JLL as our guest panellists.

Get involved: If you are a UKGBC Innovative Start-Up member wishing to participate in the Forum, please contact innovation@ukgbc.org.

Innovative Start-Up membership:  If you would like to apply to become an Innovative Start-Up member, or for more information on this dedicated membership category, please see here.

Forum Advisory Group:

The direction of the Forum is member-led.  We have a Forum Advisory Group of Innovative Start-Up members who work alongside UKGBC in-between meetings to ensure relevance of activities and to support planning and preparation.

Innovative Start-Up Forum Advisory Group:

Reflections on Meetings

Meet Our Innovative Start Ups

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