EAST MIDLANDS SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIP

February 2026: FUTUREPROOF

๐Ÿ“… Wednesday 25 February 2026โ€” ๐Ÿ•  All dayโ€” ๐Ÿ“Broadway Cinema, Nottingham

Held in February 2026, The Futureproof Conference was a fantastic event that brought together industry, innovators, policymakers, capital, and communities under one sustainable forum to discuss how we achieve a cleaner and fairer future.

Read speaker and attendee testimonies of the day below!


Written by Grace Pownall, Sustainability Consultant, Arup

The Futureproof Conference 2026 was an incredible day filled with conversations and connections, framed by a series of inspirational presentations that offered reassurance and momentum as the built environment continues to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises. The breadth of topics and speakers highlighted how widely these challenges are shared, and the value of bringing together voices from different sectors to exchange ideas and experience.

Several themes stood out across the day. A strong sense of optimism was balanced with realism, with many sessions focusing on practical actions that can be taken now rather than distant ambitions. The importance of collaboration repeatedly emerged, with speakers emphasising shared learning, transparency, and collective progress over competition. Technical solutions were consistently shown to be communicated most effectively when explained clearly and framed around outcomes that resonate with different audiences.

The conference reinforced the need to focus on clarity and accessibility when discussing sustainability topics, ensuring that conversations are inclusive and capable of driving meaningful change. It also highlighted the power of industry forums to challenge assumptions, share lessons learned, and build confidence to innovate.

Overall, Futureproof demonstrated the value of creating space to reflect, connect, and recalibrate approaches to sustainability. Events like this play an important role in maintaining momentum, fostering collaboration, and supporting action at both individual and organisational levels.


Written by Gus Noakes, Decarbonisation Engineer, Arup

FutureProofย 2026 was an energising and highly valuable experience, bringing together a diverse mix of voices committed to shaping a more sustainable future.

One of the highlights of my time at the event was the opportunity to speak on the myths of decarbonisation. This session provided a platform to challenge common misconceptions and encourage a more nuanced conversation around what meaningful decarbonisation looks like, while highlighting the importance of evidenceโ€‘led decisionโ€‘making, as organisations push to transition towards net zero.

Beyond speaking, the event offered excellent opportunities for engagement. I particularly valued the conversations with local university students who were keen to understand how sustainability, engineering and policy intersect in realโ€‘world projects. Their curiosity and enthusiasm reinforced the importance of transparent, honest dialogue about both the challenges and opportunities facing the built environment and wider economy.

FutureProofย 2026 provided an amazing platform for discussions with industry collaborators and local business leaders. These exchanges highlighted a strong appetite for collaboration across sectors, with a shared recognition that progress on climate and sustainability goals depends on coordinated action between academia, industry and local government.

Overall,ย FutureProofย 2026 was a wellโ€‘rounded and thoughtโ€‘provoking event that reinforced the value of open discussion, collaboration, and continued learning in driving meaningful progress towards a lowโ€‘carbon future.


Written by Beth Richardson, Sustainability Consultant, Arup

As a sustainability consultant based in Nottingham, it was a very exciting and rewarding experience to meet others working in the same industry and to hear about the many inspiring local initiatives and projects underway. We can often become siloed within our own work niches, so it was refreshing to step back and hear about the wider spectrum of sustainability streams, including natureโ€‘based solutions, active transport planning, climate resilience and decarbonisation.

A particular highlight for me was the River Leen 3D GIS map and city lab developed by the University of Nottingham to support the Environment Agency on flood risk management along the River Leen. Having previously worked with theย  Environment Agency, and being local to Nottingham, I really valued the interactive nature of the map and its ability to illustrate the project across a range of scales. It significantly helped to visualise the scheme, and I could been keen to use a similar approach on future projects for workshops.

Other standout sessions included a talk on managing climate anxiety, which highlighted the impact that persistent climate news can have on adults in the workplace and, most strikingly, on children. I also particularly enjoyed the East Midlands Combined Authority presentation on transport planning as someone who travels around the city in many different ways, it was encouraging to hear about future plans for wider regional integration and the emphasis being placed on the user journeys bike walking or cycling.

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