Engineering Council becomes a supporter of the Building a Safer Future Charter

As the regulator for the engineering profession in the UK, the Engineering Council is pleased to announce it has become a Corporate Supporter of the Building a Safer Future Charter.

This aligns with our existing work on building safety, including the development of new contextualised competence requirements that complement our internationally-recognised standards. We continue to work closely with the Competence Steering Group (CSG), initiated by recommendations in the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety led by Dame Judith Hackitt.

The Building a Safer Future Charter has been created to promote an urgent and positive culture and behaviour change in the safety of the built environment. It is about putting people’s safety first in how we plan for, design, build, maintain, and look after the safety of the buildings we live, work or play in and protect those that use them.

The Charter sets out five commitments that demonstrate commitment to protecting life by putting safety first, ahead of all other building priorities. Corporate Supporters, including the Engineering Council, agree to support these five commitments and promote them within their sphere of influence.

Engineering Council CEO Alasdair Coates said “The Engineering Council’s vision is to maintain society’s confidence and trust in the engineering profession. We achieve this through working strategically with partners and are pleased to be supporting this important Charter, part of our wider work on competence and the crucial issue of building safety”.

Amanda Long, Chief Executive, Building a Safer Future Charter said “We are delighted to welcome the Engineering Council as a Corporate Supporter of the Building a Safer Future Charter. From a moral, social and economic perspective it’s imperative that the sector puts building safety first. This requires a leadership and culture shift across the entire value chain. Through working with their partners to support and promote the values of the Charter, Corporate Supporters will help to drive the change required in industry.”

The BSF Charter has been highlighted by Dame Judith Hackitt and the Industry Safety Steering Group (ISSG) as a key mechanism for leading the culture change required for industry in their report for the Secretary of State and the Minister for Building Safety published in August 2020. Sign-up to the Charter is recommended by the UK Government for any organisation working throughout the entire lifecycle of a building