In this episode we take a close look at the work of the Women in Property network and preview a special breakfast discussion that they have planned on 19th May at UKREiiF, the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum being held in Leeds on 19th to 21st May.

Joining me is Sam McCabe, the newly installed national chair of Women in Property who in her day job, is Passive House Lead for the UK and Sustainable Buildings Lead for Scotland at consultant WSP.

There is much to discuss at the UKREIIF breakfast. The property and infrastructure sector is at a moment of both urgency and opportunity. Huge amounts of public and private investment are promised to underpin the nation’s growth ambitions, yet there are still a vast number of barriers to overcome.

Sam’s theme for her year in office tackles these challenges head on and underpins her career mission to deliver buildings and infrastructure that actually work for the environment, for people, for communities and for the bottom line.

So when she talks about “Building more with less,” she makes a direct challenge to the industry’s "silo mentality" and the systemic inefficiencies that too often see great designs diluted by late-stage value engineering.

And by championing inclusive leadership as a practical means to drive better decision-making, Sam is setting out at both WIP and WSP to bridge the gap between diversity and delivery.

So as usual the question is how to drive change. So let’s dig in and discuss her vision for a more collaborative more diverse, more effective and more sustainable industry.

Resources

• Women in Property website
• UKREiiF website
• WiP breakfast meeting 19th May at UKREiiF
• Male Allies UK - National Allyship Summit 14 May
• WiP People - Innovation - Place Summit - 23 April 2026
• WSP website
• Sam McCabe Linked In

This this week's episode we discuss the decarbonisation of global aviation - and specifically a new project that aims to leverage the growth in nuclear technology to accelerate us towards a new world of affordable e-SAF - sustainable aviation fuels

Because for all the pressures of driving towards a net zero emissions future, the world's hunger for air travel continues to grow. Which leaves the environmental cost of traditional kerosene as no longer sustainable.

And to be honest, given the impact of war in Iran, the pressure to accelerate towards new types of fuel is only going one way.

Today I am joined by Caroline Longman, director and guiding mind at nuclear energy consultancy Equilibrion and by Commercial lead Hannah Vickers. Together they are going to talk us through a potential solution - Equilibrion’s flagship e-SAF project, Eq.flight.

Decarbonising aviation is a tough challenge – perhaps one of the biggest challenges of the global Net Zero transition. Unlike road transport, which can lean on batteries, long-haul flight requires high-density liquid fuels.

And global SAF mandates are tightening – the UK and EU have mandated a 2% SAF blend by 2025, rising to 10%–22% by 2030 - making now an increasingly critical moment.

While Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) exists, current bio-based methods face a feedstock ceiling - there simply isn't enough waste oil or land to fuel the global fleet.

The Eq.flight programme attempts to changes the equation by leveraging the carbon-free power of nuclear energy.

Working in collaboration with partners like Rolls-Royce SMR, Equilibrion it is moving from consultancy to delivery, recently launching a call for partners to join a "trusted, outcome-focused" supply chain.

Resources

• Equilibrion website
• The Eq.Flight project
• Eq.Flight - call for partners
• EU mandate on SAF
• Caroline Longman Linked In
• Hannah Vickers Linked In

In this episode we tackle the evolving challenges of managing infrastructure investment risk in a rapidly changing world.

As systemic threats like climate change, population growth and social inequality intensify, infrastructure funding models centred on individual assets, on clearly defined risks, and on relatively predictable climate conditions are reaching their limit.

In short, if we are to continue to attract private sector cash to underpin investment in our vital public assets, we need new thinking.

My guest today is doing that thinking and helping to take the necessary action.

Donna Lopata is senior manager for corporate engagement at the Sydney based Investor Group on Climate Change and has just been working with the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney on some ground-breaking research into Systems Stewardship, a radical new way for infrastructure investors to approach the management of risk in this changing world.

Donna’s work caught my attention at the recent Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit in Melbourne. In her presentation she pointed out that the Australian infrastructure investment industry is waking up to a stark reality: if the overarching economic and environmental systems fail, no individual portfolio is safe.

However, the IGCC’s report: Systems Stewardship: Managing Interconnected Climate Risks for Lasting Value suggest that a fundamental shift is already underway. Yet while some 85% of investment professionals now apply "systems thinking," a significant implementation gap remains, hampering the transition from high-level belief statements to concrete action.

Bridging this gap requires rethinking everything from procurement and carbon assessment to the very fundamental of assessing risk.

Resources

• Investor Group on Climate Change
• The Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney
• Systems Stewardship: Managing Interconnected Climate Risks for Lasting Value
• Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit Melbourne 2026
• Donna Lopata Linked In