The Environment Agency will present a dedicated webinar on Tuesday, 2 December 2025 from 9:30–10:00am, exploring why it is formally embracing conflict avoidance across its construction and infrastructure programmes. The session will be led by Veronica Flint Williams FICE, Contracts & Risk Manager at the Environment Agency, with support from Richard Bayfield FICE, FCIArb, Chair of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition.
Registration is now open, and attendees can sign up directly via the official link:
This upcoming event offers an early look into the Agency’s adoption of the Conflict Avoidance Pledge, a commitment aimed at improving collaboration, early issue resolution and supply-chain relationships across its national portfolio. For an organisation responsible for major capital delivery (including flood defence upgrades, coastal resilience works, river structures and climate-adaptation programmes) the shift towards structured conflict avoidance marks a significant cultural and operational change.
During the webinar, Veronica Flint Williams will outline what conflict avoidance means in the Environment Agency’s operational environment, why the organisation chose to sign the Pledge, and what it expects from its contractor and consultant partners. As part of the Agency’s Commercial Centre of Excellence, she plays a central role in defining commercial strategy, setting supply-chain standards and embedding contractual governance that prioritises collaboration over adversarial behaviour. Attendees will gain insight into how early resolution mechanisms are being integrated into frameworks, how the Agency manages commercial risk, and what is required from delivery partners operating under its future procurement routes.
Richard Bayfield, Chair of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition and current ICE Vice President, will provide additional context on how conflict avoidance processes are reshaping UK construction culture. As a former contractor, consultant and client, his perspective bridges all sides of the commercial relationship, underscoring why major public bodies are now formalising these practices to reduce disputes, protect programme certainty and strengthen long-term delivery partnerships.
For London’s construction supply chain (already facing tighter margins, regulatory pressure under the Building Safety Act and rising costs) this webinar offers timely guidance on the collaborative behaviours and governance standards increasingly expected across public-sector frameworks. The Environment Agency’s move toward Gold Pledge status signals a wider industry shift: conflict avoidance is becoming a core competency, not an optional extra.