Inclusive culture progress recognised through achievement of Clear Assured Platinum accreditation

Achieving Clear Assured Platinum accreditation demonstrates Mott MacDonald’s rapid and sustained progress on embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across the business. Anna Sirmoglou, EDI manager for UK and Europe, reflects on the achievements to date and how the commitment to making EDI business as usual has made a lasting impact.

Every year for the last three years Mott MacDonald has achieved a new level of accreditation from Clear Assured for our work on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). This year we have achieved the highest level – Platinum – and the rapid advance from Bronze in 2023 demonstrates the strides we have made on EDI.

Clear Assured Platinum is awarded to organisations that not only demonstrate robust inclusive practices, but also a culture where inclusion is consistently role modelled, measured and sustained. The accreditation recognises the depth of our progress across leadership, recruitment, data, culture and capability building.

Clear Assured Platinum is not the only recognition we have received recently for our efforts to embed EDI in every aspect of our business. We also ranked 13th in the Inclusive Top 50 Employers list for 2025, were named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality 2025 and we won in the Best EDI Strategy for Gender Equality category at the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) Alumni Balance in Business Awards.

Strengthening inclusive leadership and recruitment

This accolade demonstrates a step-change in our EDI maturity, particularly at a senior level. We delivered inclusive leadership training for senior managers, improving knowledge and capability at leadership levels, and launched inclusive recruitment elearning for hiring managers. We established Aspire, a new development programme for ethnically diverse internal talent and also rolled out mandatory sexual harassment training and guidance to keep all of our colleagues safe and informed.

Our inclusive recruitment framework is now fully operational, ensuring consistent inclusive hiring practices across all business units. We’ve also welcomed new colleagues through strengthened partnerships, including a continued commitment to the STEM Returners and 10,000 Black Interns programmes.

Enhancing data, insight and accountability

Without good data it’s hard to understand and monitor progress against EDI goals. So, over the past year we have improved diversity data capture and reporting, enabling better measurement and targeted action. We ran regular disclosure campaigns to increase self-identification and improve data quality. I am proud to say that we have achieved year-on-year increases in representation of female colleagues, including at senior levels, and are making good progress on representation of ethnically diverse colleagues.

Improving staff engagement

The most important part of our EDI journey has been bringing colleagues along with us so that inclusivity becomes part of everyone’s working life. We’ve strived to bring inclusion to life by building a culture of storytelling and engagement. Through sharing lived experiences of our collagues, internally and externally, we have raised awareness of the diversity we have at Mott MacDonald and the resources available to support people. These include expanded resources on neurodiversity, disability inclusion and inclusive behaviours, as well as practical tools, such as EDI moments, using dilemmas as learning points and conversation guides.

Looking ahead to 2026

We are incredibly proud to have achieved the new accreditation level from Clear Assured for our efforts over the last few years. As we move into the new year, we are working to keep the momentum going but shifting our focus from building strong foundations to sustaining and accelerating inclusive practice across all levels of the organisation. Our key priorities include:

• Scaling up our inclusive leadership activities. We’re rolling out a refreshed EDI induction for all managers and new joiners and delivering targeted resources on inclusive decision-making, psychological safety and managing diverse teams.
• Advancing equitable career progression. We’re introducing an Inclusive Career Conversations Playbook and strengthening the midyear and year-end review processes to support fair development pathways. We will continue to promote our successful Reciprocal Mentoring programme, connecting senior leaders with colleagues who bring different lived experiences, ensuring insights are translated into leadership action.
• Celebrating the diverse voices across our organisation. Our storytelling and engagement will continue by showcasing career progression success stories from underrepresented groups and colleagues returning from long-term or parental leave.
• Providing practical tools to help. We are introducing a meaningful Conversations toolkit, cultural intelligence resources and people manager resources, while continuing to expand organisational resources on neurodiversity, disability inclusion and psychological safety.

We are committed to making inclusion and equity part of “business as usual” for everyone and building a culture where every colleague feels valued, supported and able to thrive. The Clear Assured Platinum accreditation is a testament to the dedication of colleagues across the business who champion inclusion every day. It reflects our belief that EDI is not a standalone initiative, it is integral to how we lead, recruit, develop talent and work together.