Why Upskilling Alone Won’t Save Sustainable Construction. We Have a Leadership CrisisBy Rebecca Heald – Founder of The Heald Method and Host of The Heald Approach Podcast

By Rebecca Heald – Founder of The Heald Method and Host of The Heald Approach Podcast

This week I was invited by Kinovo Group to speak at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Annual Conference in Brighton.

I stood in front of a room full of brilliant people and said something that might have made a few of them shift in their seats:

“Let’s stop pretending this industry doesn’t have a leadership problem.”

In the push to deliver sustainable buildings, we’ve poured energy into tools, tech and frameworks. We’ve created new strategies, policies and certifications. But we’ve neglected the people we expect to carry all of it forward.

The biggest problem isn’t knowledge. It’s culture. It’s systems. It’s the fear that if you speak up, challenge norms or question poor leadership, you’ll be shut down.

This Isn’t a Skills Gap. It’s a System Gap

Across housing and construction, I work with people who care deeply about sustainability. They’re committed, smart and ready to make change happen. But they keep hitting the same brick walls.

Here’s what I hear over and over again:

• “My team doesn’t get it and I’m tired of pushing uphill.”

• “Our CPD sessions are pointless. I leave feeling more frustrated than inspired.”

• “We’re still working to frameworks like BREEAM that feel totally disconnected from the reality on site.”

  
  

These aren’t isolated frustrations. They are symptoms of an industry that hasn’t evolved fast enough to meet the moment.

We’ve got people leading on Net Zero targets without the leadership skills, cultural support or tools to do the job properly.

CPD Is Failing Us. And So Are Our Certifications

Let’s talk about CPD. Too much of it is passive, surface level and outdated. It ticks the box but changes nothing.

And then we’ve got certifications like BREEAM. Once seen as progressive, they now often feel disconnected from what it really takes to deliver sustainable buildings. They focus on process instead of performance. They ignore the human factors. And they rarely help teams navigate real world challenges on site.

We cannot keep asking professionals to lead meaningful change when the training and frameworks we give them are stuck in the past.

What Sustainability Professionals Actually Need

We don’t need more jargon or another half day session filled with slides. We need development that goes deeper. That equips people to lead, influence and challenge.

Here’s what sustainability professionals are crying out for:

• Real world examples they can actually use

• Exposure to low carbon materials and new ways of working

• Leadership tools to build confidence and influence decision making

• Help with shifting cultures and challenging outdated thinking

• Practical support to speak up and lead without burning out

  
  

Upskilling needs to stop being a tick box and start being a serious investment in people who are already carrying the weight of change.

Why I Started The Heald Approach Podcast

When I started my podcast, it was because I was tired of hearing the same voices say the same things. I wanted to amplify the people on the ground. The ones pushing boundaries, working with integrity and doing the hard stuff that rarely makes headlines.

Every guest has reinforced what I already knew. The barrier to progress isn’t a lack of will or knowledge. It’s the culture around them.

Sustainability isn’t just a technical issue. It’s a leadership one.

You can throw all the frameworks and data you want at a team, but if the leadership isn’t brave enough to back change, nothing sticks.

So What Needs to Happen Now?

If you are serious about building better, this is the moment to stop playing safe.

• Rethink what development looks like in your team

• Call out the outdated training and certification schemes holding us back

• Stop expecting people to carry sustainability on their shoulders with zero cultural support

• Start investing in leadership, influence and emotional intelligence as core skills

  
  

We say we want innovation, but we train people to follow rules.

We say we want collaboration, but we reward individual performance.

We say we want inclusion, but we don’t fix the systems that push people out.

This has to change.

Final Word

At Housing Brighton, the energy was high, but so was the frustration. People want to do things differently. But they’re tired. And many are doing it alone.

So if you left that event wondering why progress still feels slow, here’s the truth.

We’re training people for the wrong game.

We are preparing them for compliance, not courage. For process, not leadership. For policy, not progress.

That has to stop

If you’re someone trying to make change from within and it feels impossible, know this, you are not the problem. You are the proof that the system needs to change.

And if you’re in a leadership position, now is the time to step up.

No more box ticking

No more outdated training

No more lip service

Let’s get serious about people development. Let’s build a sector that leads, not lags. Let’s start doing things differently.

🎙 Listen to The Heald Approach Podcast for real stories from the frontlines of sustainable construction

📩 Reach out at www.rebecca-heald.co.uk

🔗 Find me on LinkedIn: @RebeccaHeald