BESA has announced that the organisation’s annual conference will this year focus on how building engineering firms can make legal and technical compliance a strategic business advantage rather than a box-ticking exercise.
The overall theme for the event, due to be held on October 22, is ‘Beyond Compliance’: Raising Standards, Proving Competence, Delivering Better Buildings. Against a backdrop of increased pressure on costs and raised risk levels, BESA revealed that a range of speakers will argue that investment in competence, quality and resilience should be seen as essential for business survival, reputation and the delivery of safer, better-performing buildings.
The one-day programme is being held at The Brewery, London ahead of the association’s annual industry awards at the same venue that evening.
Product innovation will also be under the spotlight. A series of presentations following the ‘PechaKucha’ seven-minute format will focus on BESA’s growing library of technical standards with a Q&A to follow. There are also two CPD theatres.
Key sessions will focus on wider challenges such as competence strategies that employers can defend in the face of increased legislative scrutiny; the risks of becoming an ‘inadvertent designer’ under the Building Safety Act; and how to thrive and stay profitable in a high cost, high compliance environment.
The BESA Conference 2026 will also examine how net zero, technical best practice and AI are reshaping the future of the building engineering sector. A panel made up of senior figures from the firms featured in this year’s Top 30 Contractors’ Report will examine growth areas such as data centres, healthcare, defence and public sector upgrades.
There will also be a focus on skills and recruitment, with a WorldSkills UK Training Room taking pride of place for the first time. The room is designed to support the development and preparation of this year’s WorldSkills UK competitors, but the content will also be relevant for anyone interested in building engineering services and related technologies.
“Once again we will be challenging our delegates to consider how we can address some of the biggest issues facing the sector while also offering them specific practical tools to help them in their day-to-day working lives,” said BESA CEO David Frise. “Trying to grow a business in these exceptionally challenging times can be a lonely experience, but that is where the BESA community comes into its own. We have so much to share and learn from each other.”
