The agreement, convened by the Edge think tank, focuses on how undergraduate education in all built and natural environment professions adequately responds to the climate and nature crises
the Edge is a built and natural environment think tank and network. It is multidisciplinary in a landscape remarkable for its abundance of single-discipline institutions. Started as a means of creating a shared space between the architectural and engineering institutions, the Edge is a voluntary group with no staff
and multiple stakeholders across the built and natural environment professions. It encourage cross-disciplinary debate and campaign for change that will improve outcomes for society.
It is formed of The British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), The Chartered Institute of Architectural
Technologists (CIAT), The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), The Construction Industry Council (CIC), Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), The Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES), The Joint Board of Moderators (JBM), The Landscape Institute (LI), The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), The Society for the Environment (SocEnv).
In July 2023 a meeting of 28 representatives of industry, academia and professional institutions met to discuss how undergraduate education for built and natural environment professionals needs to change in order to address the essential goals of net-zero. This was followed by three further workshops that were held in February, March and April of 2024. The first was attended by students, recent graduates and
practitioners, the second by those working in academia and practitioners, and the third by representatives of Professional Institutions and Accreditation Bodies.
As a result, the group has released a statement:
“We the undersigned have a shared understanding that the climate and nature emergency presents an existential crisis not just for our immediate environment, but also for our planet. It is fundamental that undergraduate education in all built and natural environment professions adequately responds to this crisis. It needs to teach climate and environmental literacy and ethics and develop the ability in students to collaborate, communicate, challenge and advocate.“
“We agree that urgent action is required, and that this will require active collaboration between educators, industry, professional institutions and accreditation bodies.”
