Architects Climate Action Network

13/10/2026

📣 Just 2 days to go until the ACAN Autumn Social + AGM 📣

Join us on Thursday from 6:30pm at Pollard Thomas Edward’s, London or Online to celebrate another year of ACAN, meet the new Steering Group and hear about what is next for our thematic groups and active campaigns.

Whether you are new, been before or not, it is a great chance to meet and connect with fellow ACANers and find ways of getting involved!

🔗 Get your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/eyjeFJrF

We look forward to getting together!

It's that time of year! ACAN's Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Autumn Social.

12/10/2026

Join ACAN and RSHP for a screening of The People’s Emergency Briefing, followed by a discussion on what it means for our profession

📅 Monday 9th November, 6-9pm
📍 RSHP, Level 14, The Leadenhall Building

*Please note: all attendees must bring photo ID on the day to be able to access the building

In November 2025, the UK’s leading climate and nature scientists briefed more than 1,000 politicians, business leaders and decision-makers at Westminster Central Hall. Ten experts set out what the climate and nature crisis means for health, food supply, national security and the economy, and the positive responses already available. The People’s Emergency Briefing is the film of that evening. It is hosted by Chris Packham and is explicitly non-partisan. It is part of a national initiative to build public support for a televised government emergency briefing.

The built environment is central to this crisis. ACAN’s own figures put it at 42% of UK national emissions. ACAN was founded in spring 2019 as a network of individuals in architecture and related professions, working towards rapid decarbonisation, ecological regeneration and cultural transformation of the profession. This evening is a chance to hear the evidence together and talk about what we can do next, in our practices and across the industry.

Everyone is welcome, whether you’re already involved in ACAN or are simply curious

Register to attend here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/acan-peoples-emergency-briefing-screening-at-rshp-tickets-2003021905439

Join ACAN and RSHP for a screening of The People's Emergency Briefing, followed by a discussion on what it means for our profession.

05/10/2026

We are delighted to introduce our new Steering Group for 2026-27!

We received 10 nominations this year and the decision was made to not run elections. Despite 10 being slightly more than the anticipated final number of 7 to 9, we felt that a slightly larger group would allow us to better undertake our ambitious plans for next year.

Come along to our AGM this month to meet some of the new group in person. Register here: https://acan-autumn-social-agm-2026-climate-action.eventbrite.co.uk/

📣 The ACAN Steering Group for 2026-27 is:
Charlie Baker
Aurore Baulier
Aakash Mathialagan
Suzy Nelson
Mark Rowe
Tiziana Di Ronco
Hattie Hartman
Steve Jones
Ruby Sleigh
Xuecheng Wang

24/09/2026

📣 ACAN Autumn Social + AGM 📣

Join us on 15th October from 6:30pm at Pollard Thomas Edward’s, London or Online to celebrate another year of ACAN, meet the new Steering Group and hear about what is next for our thematic groups and active campaigns.

Whether you are new, been before or not, it is a great chance to meet and connect with fellow ACANers and find ways of getting involved!

Get your tickets here: https://acan-autumn-social-agm-2026-climate-action.eventbrite.co.uk

We look forward to getting together!

18/09/2026

🌲 WEBINAR: SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY: BIODIVERSITY, CARBON & FUTURE TIMBER SUPPLY

📅 Friday 9 October
⏰ 1–2pm (GMT+1)
📍 Online

We all know how vital forests are for life on earth, so how do we honour this life in today’s productive landscapes?

Join ACAN for a webinar exploring the impacts of commercial forestry on forest ecosystems and the role of the built environment in supporting more regenerative approaches to timber production.

We’ll explore:
- Forestry techniques and their impacts on biodiversity
- Planting design and species mix for resilience and supply sustainability
- Carbon storage in forest soils and timber construction
- Regenerative approaches to balancing timber production with multispecies health

Featuring Robin Walter, forester and regenerative forestry researcher, and Cat Byrne, forest researcher specialising in bioacoustic monitoring and woodland soundscapes.

Register now: https://sustainable-forestry-biodiversity-carbon-future-timber-supply.eventbrite.co.uk/

11/09/2026

ACAN is supporting Building Resilience Through Reuse, a one-day event exploring how reuse can reduce risk, strengthen supply chains and unlock value across the built environment.

Taking place on Wednesday 4 November at the British Library Knowledge Centre, the event will bring together people across the construction sector to explore the practical steps needed to accelerate reuse.

ACAN and Architects Declare will lead the workshop ‘Redesigning Design: Should we demand more from the buildings we design?’, exploring the role of designers in creating opportunities for reuse and how design and procurement processes could change to support it.

The programme also includes talks, panels and workshops covering the business case for reuse, material pathway auditing, designing for reuse and the reuse of steel.

📅 4 November 2026
📍 British Library Knowledge Centre, London
⏰ 09:45–16:15

Register here: https://asbp.org.uk/building-resilience-through-reuse

08/09/2026

✊ ACAN demands transparency in architectural awards

We have launched Less Taste : More Metrics, a campaign calling for greater transparency in the way that sustainability metrics are used in the judging of architectural awards.

We argue that taste dominates awards’ selection processes, often eclipsing basic environmental measures, and will examine whether, and how heavily, carbon and other metrics count in the assessment of major architectural awards.

We also intend to develop best-practice guidelines to share with award organisers. Awards can no longer treat sustainability metrics as an afterthought — and juries should be prepared, if necessary, to exclude projects that miss agreed benchmarks.

🗣️ Speaking on behalf of the campaign team, ACAN Chair Jeremy Till noted: “Awards play such an important part in setting the terms of architectural culture and so environmental measures should be central to the process. A building cannot be the best in Britain if we are not told what it cost the climate.”

The campaign opens with the 2026 Stirling Prize, calling on the RIBA to publish the Whole Life Carbon data it now collects from entrants, and to explain how — and how heavily — that data counts in the jury’s deliberations

06/09/2026

Register to come along to the next session of ACAN Climate Literacy Bookclub!

📚 Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
📆 Tuesday 13th October @ 7.00pm - 8.30pm UK time

Travel from source to sea and set your imagination free as we explore Robert Macfarlane’s Is a River Alive? ACAN Climate Literacy are teaming up with ACAN Ecology for this one to discuss how rivers are living beings themselves and urgently under threat from the anthropocene.

As always if you don't have time to read the book then no worries. Our usual friendly catchup session will run in a separate room at the start. This session will focus on specific topics from the book, so join the Climate Literacy Discord to stay in the loop.

🔗 Register now: https://acan-climate-literacy-bookclub-is-a-river-alive.eventbrite.co.uk

01/09/2026

📢 LAST CHANCE TO APPLY!

Want to help shape the direction of ACAN over the next year? Nominations to stand for the ACAN Steering Group 2026–27 close TODAY

We’re looking for 9 members to join the Steering Group, and encourage applications from under-represented groups and across the wider built environment professions.

The Steering Group is responsible for:

- Overseeing ACAN’s thematic groups and movement support
- Decisions on events, partnerships and public statements
- Supporting finances, administration and membership
- Organising the annual election cycle, AGM and social events

The Steering Group meets once a month, 6.30–8.30pm, with meetings held hybrid in-person/Zoom. Members should expect around 3 hours a month for meetings plus up to 6 hours for other roles within the organisation.

To stand, you must be a paid ACAN member and have one other ACAN member support your nomination

Nominations close on Tuesday 1 September.

Ready to stand? Fill in the Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xIorI8iS5rFpPoff1fyE0uVXq7xmTUQ8RQqt-YFy0ZY/viewform?pli=1&edit_requested=true&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

25/08/2026

🗣️ Some words from one of our current Steering Group members, Jeremy Till, on why you should apply for next year!

Nominations for our 2026-27 Steering Group are open for one more week, until 1st September. If you’re passionate about climate action in architecture, have a few hours a month to spare, and want to play a key role in helping ACAN advance its mission, then apply via the link in our bio

We’re also holding a Q&A call this Thursday, 27th August at 6:30pm, where you can speak to a current Steering Group member about your candidacy, the role, and the application process.

🔗 Join the call: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88314940061?pwd=V31y6dB95G3abXpXGarc56R7BObySn.1

🔗 Apply now: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xIorI8iS5rFpPoff1fyE0uVXq7xmTUQ8RQqt-YFy0ZY/viewform?pli=1&edit_requested=true&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio