Delivering Ireland’s built environment infrastructure effectively

Delivering Ireland’s built environment infrastructure effectively: Build Digital and the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) International Cost Management Standards (ICMS) event. 

Over 150 professionals from the Irish construction and built environment industries gathered to attend the International Cost Management Standards (ICMS) Reporting Event on Wednesday 21st of May. The event, which took place on TU Dublin’s Grangegorman campus, was hosted by Build Digital in partnership with the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). 

This event highlighted the role of ICMS in cost and carbon reporting, enabling the sustainable and efficient delivery of Ireland’s built environment infrastructure across the asset lifecycle. 

ICMS is one of the four core elements of the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF) Building Information Modelling (BIM) requirements (Irish BIM mandate). 

Key policymakers and thought leaders from Government, industry, and academia shared their insights on the development of ICMS within the BIM mandate and its impact on built environment infrastructure delivery. Build Digital also announced the publication of its first two ICMS supports: the ICMS User Guide and the Sustainability Policy Inventory, both published on the Build Digital Exchange. 

TU Dublin President Dr Deirdre Lillis opened the event by welcoming attendees and encouraging everyone to consider the sustainability, competitiveness, and societal benefits of embracing cost management standards such as ICMS. Dr Clare Eriksson, the Build Digital Director, and Tomás Kelly, the SCSI 2nd Vice President, spoke about the context from which ICMS was developed and the challenges that ICMS solves. 

The focus of the event was centred around three core questions:  

• Why and how was ICMS developed?  

• What impact will ICMS adoption have on my work?  

• How do I successfully implement ICMS on a project?  

Each question was addressed by expert speakers, panel discussions, and included audience interaction. 

Why and how was ICMS developed? 

Kevin Meaney, National Investment Office, Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery & Reform (DPENDR), led a session on the origins of ICMS and the reasons for its development. The line-up of speakers included representatives from the European Council of Construction Economists, the Infrastructure Division of DPENDR, and Mulcahy McDonagh and Partners. Attendees enjoyed hearing from speakers who could account for the development of ICMS, from its inception to application in policy by the Irish Government.  

What impact will ICMS adoption have on my work? 

Patrick King, Director of Membership and Public Affairs at SCSI, hosted a session with representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Turner & Townsend, and Andrew P Nugent & Associates. Panellists discussed the impact that ICMS has on projects, including the use of a unified approach for cost reporting and standardised, transparent carbon emission tracking. Speakers highlighted the importance of taking advantage of guidance documents and support materials such as those issued by Build Digital, SCSI and the Office of Government Procurement. 

How do I successfully implement ICMS on a project? 

This session was chaired by Damien Owens, Director General at Engineers Ireland, and included representatives from Grangegorman Development Agency, MMC Quantity Surveyors, and Kosmos. Panellists discussed various aspects of successfully implementing ICMS on projects, including learning from thought leaders in this area and combating roadblocks. A key takeaway from this discussion was the importance of developing a deep knowledge base in ICMS, BIM, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and Life Cycle Costing (LCC). Practical tools such as One Click LCA and Carbon Designer, BCIM, RICS WLCA 2nd Edition were highlighted by speakers. 

As the phased rollout of the BIM mandate continues, its application to the wider industry increases (by January 2028, every public sector construction project will be mandated to include BIM requirements). This event clearly emphasised the importance of ICMS adoption in delivering against the BIM mandate.  

Conor Shaw, UCD Postdoctoral Researcher and Build Digital Innovator, presented the ICMS supports and tools available on the Build Digital Exchange, and discussed the value that these supports bring to a project. Final remarks by P J Rudden, Chair of the CSG Construction Innovation and Digital Adoption Subgroup, highlighted the importance of efficient cost and carbon reporting in delivering Ireland’s built environment infrastructure effectively.  

Build Digital has recently announced that the Annual Build Digital Conference 2025, in partnership with Construction Cluster Ireland, will be held on Thursday October 9th 2025 in the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, Galway. Register your interest in the event here. 

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