This year Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) celebrates a major milestone - our 10th anniversary. It’s been a decade since we were founded as Scotland’s national innovation centre for construction and the built environment by the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Government.  

Over the past year, we’ve been reflecting and speaking with the colleagues, collaborators and stakeholders who made it all possible, culminating in an event last week where we celebrated each of their contributions. We talked about the things we've learned, the connections we’ve made, and the impact we’ve created. It’s been a time to look back with pride and forward with excitement. 

Where we’ve come from 

Since our launch in 2014 as the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, BE-ST has grown into a hub for innovation, collaboration, and transformation. Over the past decade, we’ve worked with stakeholders and partners to deliver over 565 projects, help generate £1.8 billion in additional revenue, create 5,286 jobs, and upskill nearly 7,000 people. We've also supported the introduction of 646 new products and services to the market.  

Our impact goes beyond just numbers. We've made significant progress in mass timber manufacturing, including our focus on mainstreaming homegrown mass timber and on increasing awareness and competency in retrofit and energy efficiency. Meanwhile, BE-ST Fest has become a key date in the sector calendar, drawing over 1,500 attendees ready to make connections across the sector and focus on how we come together to achieve a net-zero carbon built environment. 

The next chapter of BE-ST 

What’s more important than what we’ve done in the last decade, is what we’re going to do in the next one. As we look forward, our mission is still as clear and urgent as ever.  

We know that achieving net-zero in the built environment is a global challenge, and BE-ST is committed to playing a central role in this journey. The opening of Scotland’s National Retrofit Centre earlier this year and embarking on our journey to deep retrofit the A Lab building at our campus, demonstrate our commitment to creating the platforms the sector needs to accelerate its transition to net-zero carbon. 

2024 also marks a new phase of infrastructure investment for BE-ST, ensuring our long-term ability to support the sector and confront the pressing issues facing the construction industry. We also remain committed to working with the Scottish Funding Council and our host university, Edinburgh Napier University, to create transformational collaborations between universities, colleges, and the public and private sector. 

By embracing our core values - innovation, openness, challenging the status quo, connecting people, and being game-changers - we will continue to lead by example, supporting businesses, communities, and individuals as we work towards building a better future for the built environment and our citizens. 

Our mission to accelerate the built environment's just transition to net-zero carbon drives everything we do. We've embraced challenges, collaborated across sectors, and continuously pushed the boundaries of what's possible. And our amazing community have been at the heart of every impact we’ve delivered. 

Looking back, it’s the people - the innovators, disruptors, and change-makers - that have defined BE-ST’s first ten years. As we move purposefully into the future, ready to tackle new challenges and seize new opportunities, we invite you to join us. 

Stephen Good, CEO at BE-ST said: “While businesses and governments around the world deliberate about the challenges of decarbonising our built environment, BE-ST remains focused on supporting those who understand that we need to act now, with pace, and at scale. Innovation is never straightforward, but we’ve built a team that thrives on finding solutions, challenging the status quo, and collaborating across sectors. We believe in leading from the front, taking risks, learning from our mistakes, and trying again. The next decade will bring no shortage of challenges, but driven by our mission, values, and the incredible team at BE-ST, we’re only just getting started.”