FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
CIBSE’s recent conference, ‘Building Performance Reimagined – What’s Next?’, brought together senior engineers, architects, innovators and policymakers at the Royal Society in London to explore the evolving challenges and opportunities within building performance.
Aligned with 2024–25 CIBSE President Fiona Cousins’ theme, the event focused on practical strategies to enhance sustainability, efficiency and occupant wellbeing across the built environment. Drawing on insights from recent CIBSE reports, the conference centred on four key areas: thermal comfort, energy saving, data measurement and retrofit.
A strong emphasis was placed on real-world application. Case studies throughout the day showcased emerging performance metrics, innovative technological solutions, and successful retrofitting projects. This focus on actionable examples also highlighted opportunities for industry partners to contribute their own case studies as part of future sponsorship packages.
The conference featured three well-attended sessions, each addressing a different dimension of building performance.
Session one: Fabric first
Chaired by Sasha Krstanovic, Founder and Design Lead at mstep and CIBSE Trustee, the session examined the growing importance of decarbonisation and climate resilience. Speakers Kathryn Dapre (CALA), Tom Smith, and Ola Bialas (Hoare Lea) discussed the challenges of reducing emissions and mitigating overheating risks, offering attendees clear examples of best practice in the housebuilding sector.
Session two: Research, policy and future planning
Led by Sam Baptist, CIBSE Head of Government Affairs, this session explored how research and policy can inform more sustainable and resilient buildings. Presenters Becci Taylor (Arup), Lewis Turner, Dipo Lafinhan, and Andrew Wholley addressed topics including affordability within planetary boundaries, sharing forward-looking insights into delivering homes that are both environmentally responsible and economically viable.
Session three: People first
The final session focused on the central role of occupants in determining building performance. Speakers Tom Randall, Jon Belfield, and Vic Tink (InTandem Systems) presented practical case studies and strategies that put people at the heart of building design, operation and performance assessment.
‘Building Performance Reimagined – What’s Next?’ brought together thought leaders, practitioners and stakeholders for a day of knowledge-sharing, discussion and collaboration. The conference reinforced CIBSE’s ongoing commitment to advancing high-quality building performance and addressing the urgent sustainability, efficiency and wellbeing challenges facing the industry.
By presenting practical examples, highlighting emerging innovations and facilitating cross-sector dialogue, the event has set a benchmark for future CIBSE conferences—supporting continued progress and inspiring action across the built environment.
Wednesday 14 January at 11:00am
Building Management Systems (BMS) have long been used to control the heart of a building – monitoring and controlling its essential systems such as lighting, ventilation, heating and air conditioning. Facilities Managers want the best visibility to help detect and deal with concerns before they become issues.
This webinar brings together the experts from energy network provider, E.ON along with FM thought leaders to discuss moving from a reactive service to a proactive service. By identifying energy issues early and automatically, instead of occupants reporting issues, then potential faults can be identified early and remedied. The BMS does this before the problem occurs by using smart alerting and EMC support services.
Panel:
- Sara Bean: Editor FMJ (Facilities Management Journal)
- Nick Westlake: Energy and Service Delivery Manager at E.ON Control Solutions
- Sunil Shah, the author of IWFM’s Energy Management Good Practice Guide and MD of Acclaro Advisory
- David Cermak, Regional Facilities Manager for David Lloyd Clubs
To register for the webinar which will be taking place on 14 January 2026 at 11:00am click here.
