WiRE Takes the Stage at Chicago Build Expo: Leading the Shift to Sustainable Construction
2025, October, USA, Chicago, Shraddha Nair, WiRE UK Chapter Lead - The Chicago Build Expo was a two-day-long conference where the hall at McCormick Place was bustling with contractors, suppliers, consultants and many other stakeholders from the real estate and construction industry. There were 5 stages running parallel sessions on tracks like sustainability, real estate, AI & digital construction, Architecture and many more. Each track was packed with multiple panels happening parallel under them. There were also workshops conducted by various organizations around different topics in building materials, sales and marketing, diversity and inclusion, and choosing sustainable solutions.
WiRE UK Chapter Lead Shraddha Nair
WiRE was involved in three key sessions. The first one was at a networking hub session called Meet the sustainability leaders on the first day, where WiRE was one of the leading partners along with WELL Institute and GBI. We were required to introduce ourselves and our respective organizations. The remaining time was dedicated to networking with other sustainability leaders and/or enthusiasts. I met with a few other industry leader,s and some were keen to partner with us, the contacts of whom were made through LinkedIn.
On the same day, WiRE was also involved as a speaker at a panel on The Biggest Challenges & Solutions in Embodied Carbon in Construction. The panel included 4 members, including WiRE, and brought in experience from different segments of construction. Our WiRE UK Chapter lead, Shraddha Nair, covered the holistic overview of what constitutes embodied carbon and the challenges of decarbonising the energy consumed on-site at the time of construction. The discussion swiftly moved to the solutions available in the market for decarbonisation and other panelists provided their inputs on decarbonising the different stages of embodied carbon.
The second day of the expo was even more exciting than the first, with a few new exhibitions and more compelling sessions on decarbonising the construction industry. WiRE was involved in a third panel called ‘More than a buzzword: Decarbonization in Green Building Strategies’. The session had 5 panellists with expertise in different stages of the lifecycle of a building. Key topics covered included embodied carbon, operational emissions and efficiency, whole life carbon and improving mechanical efficiencies. The session progressed successfully with questions from quite many audience members.
Overall our recommendation is that anyone who is interested or passionate about core construction and the built environment industry should use build expo as a platform to engage and network effectively.
Article written by Shraddha Nair, WiRE UK Chapter Leader
