A practical path to net zero carbon in buildings
Marie-Louise Schembri, Sustainability Director at Hilson Moran
Date & Time
21st May 2025
18:00 - 19:30 CET
Availability
In person event
Location
Friggieri Hall,
Valletta Design Cluster
Price
Free (Standard)
Free (*Students)
*Note: You are only eligible for student rates if registering with your University of Malta, MCAST or American University of Malta email addresses.
Sustainability is no longer optional. As carbon targets tighten, this session with Marie-Louise Schembri challenges built-environment professionals to lead with practical, evidence-based strategies for achieving net zero carbon—moving beyond compliance and into action, with a focus on real-world solutions tailored to Malta’s complex design and policy landscape.
Attendees will gain actionable insights to apply directly to their projects and practices. In this session, I will present real-world examples demonstrating how to achieve net zero carbon with a focus on Malta, emphasising the crucial roles architects and engineers play in driving meaningful change.
The conversation around climate change mitigation in architecture, civil engineering and related fields has shifted—from a focus on regulatory compliance to embracing voluntary leadership and leveraging sustainability as a competitive advantage. However, with growing scrutiny on greenwashing, there is an increasing demand for greater transparency, simplicity, and practical action.
Difficulty Level
A general appreciation of the subject, as well as an understanding of how the subject may affect, or integrate, with other subjects.
Prerequisite
None
Who is this for?
This is for anyone shaping the future of the built environment: architects, engineers, and sustainability consultants aiming to future-proof their design approach; developers, planners, and project managers looking to understand the business case for Net Zero; students and emerging professionals eager to gain an edge in low-carbon design; public-sector leaders and policy-makers involved in critical decisions; and anyone committed to advancing sustainable construction in Malta and beyond.
Meet your instructor?
Sustainability Director at Hilson Moran, Marie-Louise is an experienced environmental architect and engineer, and industry leader on environmental sustainability in the built environment, with a focus on GHG/carbon emissions, energy efficiency and circular economy.
She brings 25 years of industry experience, from ambitious schemes in UK, France and other global locations, to the ground-breaking authoring of the City of London’s ‘Carbon Options Guidance’ policy document, which will help shape the skyline of the City of London for years to come. Her track record spans from strategic planning policy development, development frameworks, masterplans and regeneration schemes; to building design across various sectors, workspace design and real estate portfolio decarbonisation.
Marie-Louise is a regular panellist at several events such as LREF, Footprint+ and Future Build, as well as a contributor to publications including Architects' Journal, CIBSE Journal and Building Magazine. She formed (and continues to form) part of jury and expert panels including the CTBUH Awards (Chair), New London Awards, Don’t Move, Improve! (Judge) and BCO London 2025-28. She is a visiting lecturer on the subject of Net Zero Carbon (NZC) at University College London, and a contributor to recent and emerging standards on NZC, Energy Performance and Circular Economy. She contributes to the UK Government policy through the UK Green Buildings Council Policy Partner programme.
At Hilson Moran she is a member of the Operational Board, and in 2021 she founded the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum, which she continues to drive.
Lecture aims
To develop an understanding of how carbon emissions in construction and operation will likely be capped in the near future and the implications this holds for architectural and engineering practice.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, the participant will:
- Definition of Net Zero Carbon for the built environment
- The scope of Net Zero Carbon
- Emerging reasons and drivers for NZC – why is matters
- Areas of maximum impact by architects and engineers
- Examples of big wins for carbon savings: embodied and operational
- Examples of how it impacts the bottom line (CAPEX and OPEX) – demonstrating added value
- What needs to change to unlock potential and inform opportunity
105 Valley Road
Birkirkara, BKR 9011
Malta
Join the conversation.
Subscribe to our newsletter.