As experts in sustainable design, construction and management including sustainability at the most critical conceptual, planning and feasibility stages of all our projects, addressing the whole-life costs and environmental and social opportunities from a truly multidisciplinary standpoint.
Our team provides advisory services for sustainable development, designs projects to be sustainable, and aims to be a sustainable operated company. We believe that all communities can develop sustainably, and have helped them do so over more than half a century. Our experience has ranged from agricultural and social development in the Middle East, Asia and Africa to renewable energy projects worldwide. We have also demonstrated that by reducing resource consumption (ie land take and energy use), sustainability in the built environment cuts both whole-life cost and carbon.
Our approach to sustainable development
We believe that communities should be helped to develop to meet their needs and aspirations while allowing other communities and future generations to do the same. Needs and aspirations may be social and economic, and protection of the environment and its resources is vital to avoid harm to others both now and in the future. Sustainable development therefore is a matter of making choices and decisions which satisfy all relevant social, economic and environmental concerns.
We provide sustainable development services throughout the lifecycle of a project: planning, implementation, operation/management and end-of-life.
Planning for sustainable development
Our policy, sustainability and climate change experts have led the development of practical long term strategic plans for whole countries, such as Abu Dhabi and Mauritius, as well as for environmentally sensitive areas under threat from agricultural and urban development, such as the Eurasian Steppes of Ukraine, Russia and Moldova. We have also helped regional and local government agencies in the UK to be among the first to conduct sustainability appraisals and strategic environmental assessments of development plans in line with European legislation.
Sustainable design and construction
We have designed infrastructure to standards which cut operational carbon and reduce our customers’ energy costs, such as BREEAM, LEED, Green Star, Estidama and CEEQUAL. Through our leading edge designs we've developed methods, such as our INDUS sustainability rating tool, that guide each step of the design process to cut carbon, reduce whole-life costs and satisfy social, economic and environmental criteria.
Our industry-leading LifeCYCLE and CapIT tools allow developers to combine carbon footprinting with traditional construction economics and BIM systems. In addition, we have developed tools and techniques for climate change risk assessment and adaptation which help to build climate resilience into our projects.
Sustainability in operation
Sustainable buildings and infrastructure uses less energy and water, produces less waste, provide a comfortable working environment, and cost less to run. Our experts help customers conduct energy efficiency audits, waste minimisation programmes, and design retrofit programmes. The fit-out of our own Fleet Place office in central London to the RICS Ska Gold standard has demonstrated that sustainable offices do not require new build to be successful.
Services
- Carbon footprinting
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation
- Health, social and environmental impact assessment
- Low carbon development
- Renewable energy
- Strategic environmental assessment
- Sustainability appraisal and assessment
- Sustainability planning and strategy
- Waste minimisation