Construction Mental Health Summit 2025 proves a sky-high success

On September 30, industry change-makers, charities, experts and construction workers all came together at the top of London's Gherkin for the much-anticipated 2025 Construction Mental Health Summit.

HOSTED by The B1M’s Fred Mills and Procore’s Sasha Reed, the Summit saw leading voices on construction mental health from across three continents assemble in one place — and what a place it was.

By far the biggest Get Construction Talking event to date, following on from previous gatherings in London, Sydney, Chicago and Denver, the morning offered up a captivating mix of frank and honest keynote sessions, panel debates and a collaborative workshop.

“The atmosphere was as inspiring as the setting — a room full of people determined to shift the conversation on mental health in construction,” said Katie Kelleher on LinkedIn.

“What gave me hope today was being surrounded by hundreds of people from across the industry, united by one goal — to make a difference. Not with tick-box exercises, but with real action,” said endurance athlete and mental health advocate Angus Collins on Instagram.

"From labour voices to major contractors, leading clients, technology firms, consultants, universities, SMEs and the Construction Leadership Council, I am proud that we brought so many parts of the industry together under the Gherkin’s iconic glass roof for such an honest and frank set of conversations about mental health" said Mills.

Above: Summit at the Summit. The event saw the industry come together at the top of London's Gherkin. Below: The B1M's Fred Mills, who founded Get Construction Talking. Images: Alistair Veryard for The B1M.

The need for everyone to play a part in taking action on construction’s mental health crisis was the theme of the day.

Suicide rates in the industry are almost four times higher than the national average and construction has some of the worst mental health statistics of any sector.

On the agenda

After opening keynotes from Fred Mills and Sasha Reed, the first panel centred on the lived experiences of the construction workforce.

Chaired by Mills, the session featured former crane operator Katie Kelleher from CPA, Construction Sport’s Steve Kerslake and Brett Smith of US contractor Gardner Builders. This powerful and moving panel covered a wide range of issues, with an emphasis on stigma, support systems and first-hand stories.

Above and Below: The topics for the two main panel sessions were ‘Labour Voices’ and ‘Policy, Strategy and Culture’. Images: Alistair Veryard for The B1M.

The next panel, chaired by Reed, featured Elle Smith of the Strategic Estates Team at UK Parliament, Balfour Beatty’s head of health Rob Cheeseman, Peter Tateishi, president of the AGC of California and Mates in Mind CEO Sam Downie.

Together they discussed progress made at their organisations to date and what has to be done to drive systemic change on this most critical of matters.

Many felt more effort is required to tackle the pressures that contribute to poor mental health, from on-time payments that can ease financial concerns to not ignoring the effect of gambling and substance abuse.

Turning the tables

Following a networking break, all attendees were invited to take part in a hands-on roundtable discussion, which led to lively conversations on the topics of solutions, barriers and what can be done to ensure collective action is taken.

Above and Below: The roundtable session and closing keynote gave attendees the opportunity to have their voices heard. Images: Alistair Veryard for The B1M.

Then it was time for the closing keynote — a fireside chat between The B1M's Fred Mills and Mark Reynolds, co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and executive director of MACE.

Talking points included the CLC’s role in influencing change in construction mental health, what it’s already been doing to address the crisis and how Reynolds sees the issue progressing over the next few years.

Big-name support

The event was also supported by major partners and charities from across the construction industry, including:

• Multiplex
• Balfour Beatty
• KONE
• Tideway London
• Mayor of London
• Gardner Builders
• Statom Group
• Brick Borrow
• Mates in Mind
• Construction Sport
• Mates in Construction
• Lighthouse
• Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention

Above: The event partners. Below: The Summit was held on the top two floors of London’s iconic 30 St Mary Axe, better known as The Gherkin. Image: Alistair Veryard for The B1M.

Get Construction Talking is a global initiative founded by Fred Mills, The B1M and Procore. We’re combining the reach and influence of our organisations to raise awareness and drive action around mental health in construction, as well as lift up the fantastic work of charities in this space.

So far we’ve helped raise over $696,000 for construction mental health charities worldwide and launched awareness campaigns across London and New York’s public transport systems.

You can learn more, find links to support, download an Action Plan or make a donation to these charities at getconstructiontalking.org.