President Gareth Vaughan outlined to industry colleagues worldwide the principal challenges currently being faced by HVCA members and the UK building services engineering sector.
Speaking at the annual convention of the Mechanical Contractors' Association of America (MCAA), in Scottsdale, Arizona, he acknowledged the negative effect the global economic downturn was having on HVCA members, and the fact that 'for too many firms, survival will become the over-riding priority' in the months to come.

However, the president went on to stress that, in spite of a deteriorating commercial climate, many key issues were being progressed.

'Not least among our core concerns is the absolute need to respond positively to the ever-growing quest for sustainability across the built environment,' Vaughan continued. And he summed up the main responsibility of today's building services engineer as 'providing highly energy-efficient, low-carbon systems, using materials and technologies that preserve the planet's natural resources and safeguard the environment'.

'It is my belief that HVCA and MCAA members - and, indeed, building services engineering contractors across the world - are key players in the achievement of a step change in the design and installation of renewable technologies, and that this is one challenge that none of us can afford to duck,' the president concluded.