A Moment That Hits Home
When Dr Josh Macabuag was awarded his OBE, he was the first to say it felt like a moment of recognition for something much bigger than one person. This honour reflects the collective achievements of the communities and teams he’s worked alongside; SARAID volunteers, disaster risk specialists at the World Bank, and the innovators at Renew Risk.
What Disaster Risk Engineering Really Means
Josh has long used the term “Disaster Risk Engineering” to describe the intersection of his work — combining real-time disaster response with analytical tools to manage future risks. His career bridges:
- Urban Search & Rescue: the boots-on-the-ground work of locating and rescuing people trapped in collapsed buildings (bottom-up).
- Catastrophe Modelling: leveraging analytics to forecast disaster risks and guide global resilience decisions (top-down).
It’s a rare dual lens, shaped by collaboration and driven by purpose.
When Engineering Meets Emergency
Back in 2019, after the earthquakes in Albania, Josh and his colleagues saw a need for a better way to coordinate engineers in disaster zones. This led to the development of the Damage Assessment Coordination Centre (DACC) — a practical innovation adopted by teams responding to the Beirut explosion in 2020 and the Haiti earthquake in 2021. Josh then lead a UN-OCHA subcommittee considering DACC for adoption in international standards.
It’s a story of shared ingenuity and fast-moving collaboration under pressure.
Building Safer, Greener Futures
Today, much of Josh’s focus is on renewable energy infrastructure. At Renew Risk, he and the team are helping insurers, lenders, and asset owners better understand and manage the risks to wind and solar projects. By developing specialised natural catastrophe models for renewables, they’re enabling more accurate pricing and broader insurance coverage. This, in turn, unlocks financing. So more clean energy infrastructure can be built, insured, and brought online faster. It’s a critical lever for accelerating the transition to a sustainable future.
Gateway backed that vision with a £1.7m Seed round in 2023 and followed on in 2025, not just because of the tech, but because of the team’s commitment to enabling a more resilient, sustainable energy transition.
The Teams Behind the OBE
Josh has worked with people in every corner of the globe — from SARAID’s volunteer teams to government advisors at the World Bank, to students and researchers across continents. He’s shared field insights with major media, global institutions, and international standards bodies — not for profile, but to move the field forward.
And then there are the individuals who’ve shaped his journey — from professors and colleagues at the World Bank, to the family supporting him through every deployment and sleepless night. When speaking to Josh about the OBE he was keen to pay particular tribute to Rob, Gary, Mark, Ashima, Suby, Gaurav, and especially Natsuko — his rock, his hero.
This honour is a nod to them all.
Looking Ahead
The OBE is a moment of recognition for a broader mission, one that continues through SARAID’s deployments, Renew Risk’s growth, and the advancement of disaster risk science.
At Gateway, we’re proud to support ventures that blend mission with expertise. This story reminds us that engineering, when applied with compassion and creativity, can shift the course of what’s possible.
To the many hands shaping a safer, more resilient world, thank you.