Build your skillset, build your network, build our future. 

Why study Sustainability Leadership for the Built Environment (IDBE)?

Buildings and construction are responsible for nearly 40 per cent of CO2 emissions, according to the UN Environment Programme 2019 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction. With global building stock set to double in area by 2060*, the built environment sector needs a transformative shift towards more sustainable development if it is to deliver the net zero emissions ambition. This requires collaborative working practices across all disciplines. From project planning and financing to design and construction and management. 

The part-time Master’s and Postgraduate Certificate are truly interdisciplinary, attracting students from around the globe and from the many professions that contribute to our built environment. We teach global best practice through project-based learning, with a focus on collaboration and leadership throughout the course. 

The program was formed from a powerful partnership between the University of Cambridge’s world-leading Architecture and Engineering departments and delivered by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), with over 25 years' heritage.

Students include, but are not limited to, architects, engineers, surveyors, project managers, planners, urban designers, asset managers, real estate professionals, facilities managers, specialist consultants and contractors.

“I learnt from the hugely diverse experiences of fellow students and staff and found a new appreciation for the full breadth of skills, opportunities and perspectives within the built environment.”

Helene Gosden, Senior Design Manager, Arup

"One third of my cohort came from overseas and had a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, from urban planning to contracting, so there was a wealth of global perspectives to learn from."

Tony Ip, Architect

Part-time and cost-effective

Led by Course Director Dr Kayla Friedman, AIA, we understand the demanding work schedules you face. Sustainability Leadership for the Built Environment (IDBE) is designed around part-time learning. With in-residence modules as well as online learning, you achieve the best of both worlds without sacrificing existing commitments.

Whether personally financed or employer-sponsored, we know that investing in your professional education is a big decision. While excellent value for a University of Cambridge and industry accredited qualification, we offer a range of options for scholarship, payment plans and deferring fee elements to help participants overcome financial barriers.

The key components of the two built environment programs

Unrivalled credibility

The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership is a globally influential institute based at the University of Cambridge, with HRH The Prince of Wales as Royal Founding Patron. With more than 30 years’ experience of developing interdisciplinary leadership for a sustainable economy across multinationals, governments and individuals around the world, CISL’s delivery of these part-time courses provides unrivalled sustainability credibility.

Key themes

The Master’s and Postgraduate Certificate explore how successful, sustainable built environment projects rely on the coordinated effort and experience of multiple disciplines and professions. The built environment is facing challenging carbon reduction targets, affecting every area of the design and construction process, across public and private works. As a result, there is phenomenal appetite for sustainability and environmental skills across every built environment role. Increasingly companies are aligning their business models and procurement processes with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With a wide range of services and disciplines contributing to the built environment sector, inefficiencies of a fragmented workplace are a key drag on construction projects. While collaboration is frequent, inter-disciplinary awareness and related management skills are seldom part of standard real estate, architecture, engineering, planning or other built environment qualifications. High impact leadership and seamless project management are needed. The rise of smart cities and technological transformation demand a broader, more connected ‘design-thinking’ professional.

These key themes, crucial for successful built environment projects of all types, form the basis of the program's core modules:

1. Leadership, professionalism and interdisciplinary practice
2. Sustainability and resilience
3. Innovation and technology
4. Design thinking
5. Research skills

* UN Environment and International Energy Agency (2017): Towards a zero-emission, efficient, and resilient buildings and construction sector. Global Status Report 2017.