It was really great to see a full house at this week’s Glazing Summit held at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. This was the fourth of these events since 2018, and I would say probably the best yet.

Billed as an opportunity to get together and network, be inspired by economists and businesspeople from other sectors, and hear debates on the big industry topics, I think it delivered pretty well on all three.

In terms of networking, I caught up with lots of friends and colleagues and met some new faces which is always good, and I particularly enjoyed the insights on how to deliver the best customer experience from keynote speaker and ex-John Lewis director Peter Cross

When it came to the debates, there was less PR speak from the panellists than in previous years and a refreshing degree of honesty and openness – particularly in the supply chain debate from the likes of Gareth Jones of Solar Fabrications, Neil Jones of Veka UK, and Steve Massey of Regency Glass.

I would have liked to hear more feedback from the delegates in the room about how they are navigating the new Part L and Part F of the Building Regs in the debate on regulation, and certainly more about photovoltaic glass for windows during the insight discussion on innovation, because that’s arguably the most exciting opportunity being presented in fenestration at the moment.

One thing which was really good to hear talked about, even if there was a fairly muted reaction from the room, was the issue of diversity and how to make the industry more appealing and accessible to women and minority groups. We have a long way to go in this industry until it is truly representative of the wider population, but at least the issue is firmly on the agenda now.

The organisers have already announced the date for next year’s Glazing Summit – and I’ll definitely be putting it in my diary for 2023.