Construction is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions of any industry - yet sustainability still gets treated as an afterthought on most projects. Paloma Hermoso, Head of Sustainability at Ward Williams, knows this tension better than most. With a background spanning organisational psychology, corporate social responsibility and over a decade working across the built environment, she brings a perspective that is equal parts practical and provocative. In this episode, Paloma shares why good intentions aren't translating into action, what the industry is getting wrong about how sustainability decisions get made, and what a genuinely different approach looks like in practice.
Topics covered:
1. Construction has a decision-making problem, not a knowledge problem
Sustainability keeps arriving too late — after budgets, programmes and procurement are already locked. Until it's treated as an investment with a real return, rather than an expense, it will always be an afterthought.
2. Why sustainability still feels so overwhelming
Too many frameworks, too many acronyms and no clear connection to the decisions people are actually responsible for. Paloma explores how well-meaning communication from scientists has left many people paralysed rather than motivated to act.
3. Introducing the Sustainability Pathfinder
Inspired by choose-your-own-adventure books, Paloma's thinking tool is designed for anyone on a project team — not just the sustainability specialist. It helps teams ask better questions, explore trade-offs and take action at any stage of the project lifecycle.
4. Where digital tools and AI genuinely help - and where they don't
Technology can handle complexity, speed up analysis and support better decisions — but it can't replace human judgement. Paloma is candid that AI won't save us, and shares real examples of digital tools being used well in construction sustainability.
5. You don't need a strategy to start
Pick one decision you're already making on a project and ask whether there's a more sustainable option, and what's stopping you from choosing it. That single question, Paloma arugues, is all it takes to begin making a real difference.
Construction has no shortage of sustainability ambition. But ambition alone isn't delivering the change the industry needs. This episode gets to the heart of why, and what teams can do differently starting now.
You'll hear why sustainability decisions keep getting made too late, how digital tools can support better outcomes without replacing the people making the calls, and what one practical thinking tool is doing to make sustainability accessible to every person on a project or in the office - not just the specialists!
If you work in construction and want to move beyond box-ticking, this episode is worth your time.
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