The Institute of Chartered Foresters was delighted to be crowned the winner of the ‘Building Industry Resilience Award’ at the Confor Dinner & Awards 2025 for their work in delivering the wildly successful Emerging Leader Programme – an initiative aimed at helping forestry professionals build leadership potential, strengthen their networks and drive social, environmental, and organisational change for the long-term benefit of the sector.
Taking place at Surgeon’s Hall, Edinburgh on the evening of 19 February, the awards saw forestry professionals from across the UK congregate to meet old friends, make new acquaintances, and celebrate the fantastic work taking place across the sector.
The new Building Industry Resilience Award is presented to an individual, business or organisation taking positive action to futureproof the forestry and wood sector through impactful research, innovative technology development, or skills building initiatives such as the Emerging Leader Programme.
Developed in partnership with Clore Social Leadership, the Emerging Leader Programme is a six-month social leadership programme (now in its second year) that provides access to an array of impactful leadership development tools, building stronger peer networks and developing skills for continuous learning. The programme aims to act as a catalyst for change, with more than 125 key forestry figures involved to date, either as a participant, mentor or interviewer.
Commenting on the Institute’s success, Executive Director Louise Simpson commented:
We were absolutely thrilled to win the inaugural Building Industry Resilience Award, especially given the strong competition in the category. Our Emerging Leader Programme was developed specifically for the purpose of building lasting resilience across the sector, empowering our colleagues and forestry professionals to develop their leadership skills for the ongoing benefit of trees and woodlands. We’re delighted to have a second cohort currently going through the Programme, which will add to the skilled and strongly interconnected cohort of tree professionals who can drive the sector forward and navigate future challenges. Congratulation to all those nominated for awards this evening – it’s important that we take time to recognise, and celebrate, our ongoing achievements as a sector.
