Meet the chairman
Jim O’Neil is the chairman of M&E Sustainability and engineering director at national contractor Shepherd Engineering Services.
Formerly he was chief engineer and engineering director at N G Bailey. He has been chairman of the Technical Committee of the ECA since 2002, and of its Technology Development Committee since 2003.
When he was appointed chairman of M&E Sustainability in 2008, Mr O’Neil stated that he would make the identification of sustainable solutions across the built environment and the promotion of renewable energy his key priorities.
“The building services engineering sector has a crucial part to play in helping Government to meet its emission reduction targets and clients to achieve their corporate social responsibility obligations over the coming years,” he added.
The development of a truly sustainable built environment is moving ever higher up everyone’s agenda – and that this is one challenge that the building services engineering sector cannot afford to duck, according to Jim.
He defines sustainability as “working in such a way as to meet the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”.
And the role of the m&e sector within the sustainability context had been defined as “providing high-efficiency, low-carbon systems, using materials and technologies that preserve the planet’s natural resources and safeguard the environment”.
“History demonstrates that building services engineering has not been slow in absorbing new ideas, adopting fresh approaches and benefiting from original thinking,” says Jim.
“Never before has it been as crucial as it is today to maintain just such an open mind – to be prepared to adapt to changing circumstances and to accommodate changing requirements.”