Talking Infrastructure

Welcome to season 5 of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast. Talking Infrastructure delves into the industry’s hot topics, key projects, and the ground-breaking innovations that are helping to solve some of the world’s most complex infrastructure challenges.    Protecting heritage, powering renewal  Protecting heritage while powering renewal is a challenge facing communities and organisations ac...

 Welcome to season 5 of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast. Talking Infrastructure delves into the industry’s hot topics, key projects, and the ground-breaking innovations that are helping to solve some of the world’s most complex infrastructure challenges.  Northern Powerhouse Rail: the choices that will shape delivery  Northern Powerhouse Rail – a new rail network set to be the region’s larg...

Welcome to season 5 of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast. Talking Infrastructure delves into the industry’s hot topics, key projects, and the ground-breaking innovations that are helping to solve some of the world’s most complex infrastructure challenges.    Then, now, next: lessons in building lasting communities  What turns a housing development into a thriving community – a place where peo...

Airports are under increasing pressure to expand, modernise and deliver more – for passengers, for communities and for the wider economy. But with public funding constrained, how can this level of investment be delivered at pace and scale?  As demand for air travel grows and infrastructure comes under strain, private finance is playing a central role – often through partnerships between the public...

Across the world, extreme weather is putting the systems we rely on under increasing pressure.   At the same time, we’re entering a historic era of infrastructure growth. Electricity demand is rising rapidly – and around 75 per cent of the infrastructure that will exist by mid-century hasn’t yet been built.    So how do we ensure the systems we depend on today – and the infrastructure we build tom...

Welcome to Season 4 of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast. In this series, we explore the challenges, opportunities, and innovations shaping the future of infrastructure – from accelerating the energy transition to ensuring our sector is ready for what comes next.  Episode 3: Future-ready infrastructure – Addressing the STEM skills crisis  In this episode, our host Toby Sadler is joined by exp...

We’ve all seen the headlines—over the past decade, the UK has seen record-breaking rainfall, with climate change driving more intense weather. But our drainage infrastructure, much of it built over a century ago, was not designed to cope with these extremes.  Combined sewer overflows (CSOs)—originally developed to prevent flooding by discharging excess water when sewers reach capacity—are now bein...

"We’ve got to think about this all together as a whole-systems holistic solution, whether it’s a single rural community or whether that’s at an industrial cluster level. It’s the same—the whole nation is a system in itself. So, we’ve got to have that whole-systems approach from the top down, whether that’s transmission networks right the way down to [...] the final mile on the grid." – Kate Gilmar...

Despite the ongoing war and the destruction of nearly half its power infrastructure since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine is determined to emerge stronger and greener. This episode delves into Ukraine's bold vision to become Europe’s new green energy hub.  Remarkably, Ukraine constructed more onshore wind turbines in 2022 than England, showcasing its commitment to renewable ener...

We’re back with another installment of Talking Infrastructure—and this time we’re live at UKREiiF: the UK’s real estate investment and infrastructure forum.  In this episode, James Banks hosts a live panel discussion about the people-centric strategies needed to navigate the energy transition in an equitable way.  ------------  Welcome to season 3 of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast. Talking...

S3E05: Ride the Change: shifting gears towards climate action  For Earth Day 2024, we’re proud to be sponsoring the Ride the Change bike ride, an epic journey that spans the UK, Holland and Belgium. By raising climate pledges instead of cash, the ride – organised by Do Nation – aims to encourage simple, sustainable actions.   70 cyclists representing AECOM and other organisations travelled from th...

Welcome to season 3 of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast. Talking Infrastructure delves into the industry’s hot topics, key projects, and the ground-breaking innovations that are helping to solve some of the world’s most complex infrastructure challenges.  We'll be discussing everything from driving cost and time efficiencies within the rail industry to the importance of collaboration in brin...

S3E03: Engineer of the future: building tomorrow’s workforce  Welcome to season 3 of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast. Talking Infrastructure delves into the industry’s hot topics, key projects, and the ground-breaking innovations that are helping to solve some of the world’s most complex infrastructure challenges.  We'll be discussing everything from driving cost and time efficiencies withi...

In this episode, we take you on a journey behind the scenes of one of the rail industry’s most successful partnerships - the South Rail Systems Alliance (SRSA). The SRSA is one of three alliances set up to complete vital track renewals necessary to improve the rail network for the benefit of passengers across the UK.   As a successful working example of an alliancing delivery model, the SRSA is wi...

👉 Key points As well as an introduction into how hydrogen is made, what it is used for, its pivotal role in the energy transition, and public impact, listeners can expect: - practical insights on hydrogen project planning and delivery - commentary on regulation, investment and technology - thoughts on balancing profitability and risk - an insight into how green ammonia could decarbonise the agric...

Our latest episode was recorded live at an AECOM-sponsored panel at the 2022 Labour Party Conference. Convened by leading thinktank Policy Exchange, the expert panel share how local leaders across the UK are building momentum to decarbonise cities and encourage green economic growth through effective public/private partnerships. The line-up comprises Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of the North of Tyne Comb...

In the latest episode of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast, we hear from Michael Gove MP, the former (and soon to be reappointed) Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, on the importance of strong local leadership and taking an integrated approach to deliver levelling up at the scale and pace required. Gove was speaking at th...

In our latest episode, host James Banks is joined by digital, carbon and programme management experts from infrastructure specialists AECOM, Arup, Costain and Egis to talk about the challenges that industry must solve to leverage the transformative power of data.

In the latest episode of AECOM’s Talking Infrastructure podcast, AECOM’s Chief Executive for India and Europe, Colin Wood, talks to Nick Smallwood, Chief Executive of the UK Infrastructure and Projects Authority. They discuss how to create ambition across the sector, drive collaboration and find smarter ways to deliver infrastructure that truly benefit society.

Host James Banks is joined by Andy Mitchell, CEO at Thames Tideway, Terry Wong, MTR, and Colin Wood, CEO Europe at AECOM to explore the role infrastructure has to play in opening up new opportunities and supporting communities in the decades to come. Further reading: https://infrastructure.aecom.com/en-gb/creating-social-impact

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the idea that we need to make our towns and cities more resilient was growing. From aging and deficient infrastructure… to the challenges of climate change and population growth, it’s widely acknowledged that we are under-prepared to meet the increasingly unpredictable challenges of today. James Banks is joined by Angela Ryan, Water Supply and Resources Strate...

PFAS; How to tackle forever chemicals Found in everything from pizza boxes to firefighting foam. PFAS are resistant to heat, water and oil, and with an ability to move through the environment they can contaminate soil and water supplies. As a result it’s estimated that PFAS are now present in 99% of American’s blood. With links to issues including cancer and kidney disease the worldwide historic u...

James Banks talks to Chris White, Principle Environmental Economist at AECOM, Professor Ian Convery from the University of Cumbria and Adam Eagle, Chief Executive of The Lifescape Project. They discuss the concept of Natural Capital and the progress that’s been made a year since launching AECOM’s Natural Capital Laboratory. AECOM’s Natural Capital Laboratory is a joint-venture with conservation ch...

To discuss how investment in our infrastructure can help our economy recover following the Coronavirus pandemic. James Banks talks to Mark Thurston, CEO of HS2, Dean Sporn, Director of the Regional Investment Programme (South) for Highways England, Nick King, Group Director, Network Services at Network Rail and AECOM’s Managing Director of Civil Infrastructure Mark Southwell. Further reading: The...

With ambitions to be a carbon neutral city region by 2038, Greater Manchester wants to be known for its flourishing environment as well as its economic success. James Banks is joined by Greater Manchester’s first Cycling and Walking Commissioner and Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman, Director of Environment for Manchester based property group Bruntwood, Bev Taylor and AECOM’s Rachel O’Donnell,...