Impact in Water and Environment

This award recognises consulting firms within the construction and civil engineering industry that provide services within the water & environment sector. 

Acardis

The Asset Management Team within Arcadis’ Water Management business has grown from a team of 4 individuals to being 10 strong in less than 18 months: three of which have been internal transfers who have heard of our work, our team ethics, the diverse range of projects we get involved with, and wanted to be part of our offering. We have done this by working with our internal and external clients to bring in repeat work and demonstrate the value of our experience, and as a team we brought in £1.2m revenue in 2023. We are a diverse team, covering multiple engineering disciplines, spanning experience from university intern and graduates to highly experienced AM practitioners. We use our range of backgrounds and experiences to build strong relationships with our clients as well as to challenge their existing way of thinking.

Binnies

Over the last 18 months our consultancy business has grown from 238 employees in June 2022 to 289 in December 2023. This demonstrates an increase in workload aligned with our sense of purpose ‘Enhancing Lives, Communities and the Environment’. We have shaped our business to respond to the climate emergency by focusing on providing clean drinking water and water treatment facilities, nature-based solutions, enhancing community open spaces through sustainable landscape design, flood protection, net zero energy and sustainable transport strategies. We are benefiting our clients by identifying, developing and promoting fundable, holistic nature-based solutions, that embed natural capital and catchment thinking, and provide water quality, flood protection, and wider societal community benefits. We are benefiting the sector by maximising the environmental and social value our designs provide, using a multi-capitals approach to quantify and monetise benefits and create natural capital business cases that draw in new sources of funding.

Fathom and Arup

Global flood and climate risk intelligence firm Fathom has experienced exponential growth in the past 18 months, from its headcount to its revenue. From launching first-of-their-kind products to openly publishing their methods in peer-reviewed open access academic journals, the organisation brings an unparalleled view of water and environment risk to the engineering industry, helping firms build flood resilience into their projects to manage and mitigate climate change and future proof communities. Together with leading engineering consultancy Arup, Fathom delivered a landmark assessment for African city Dar es Salaam to quantify how different nature based solutions could protect the growing population of this low-lying coastal city subject to frequent heavy rainfall, from the increasing flood risk brought about by climate change,

JBA Consulting

JBA Consulting is an employee owned, independent business that is at the fore-front of the water and environment sector. It is a key deliverer in over 30 frameworks in this sector, forging strong long-term relationships with clients and other suppliers. It is dedicated to excellence in delivery and innovation.Through its ambition to lead in society’s pursuit of resilience to climate change JBA have delivered award winning projects, protecting communities from flooding and delivering sustainable solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Innovation is at the heart of JBA; significant investment in JBA Labs has led to exciting new products and tools to improve quality and efficiency. Further investment in AI solutions will super-charge this innovation.The company has grown significantly in turnover and people – 65% of its recruitment last year was on graduates and apprentices, investing in the future leaders in Water and Environment.

Mine Environment Management

Mine Environment Management is a specialised geochemistry consultancy, working in the mining sector. Mining operations face unique challenges to balance increasing need for raw materials, with decreasing our impact on water and the environment. Our company strives to look beyond the data and immediate questions in a project, to the overall needs of our clients and main drivers in the industry, adding value in our projects. We apply critical thinking to troubleshoot problems and achieve innovation within our field from the data obtaining level to using this to plan in view of predicted environmental outcomes. We actively seek to support people in their development, and have co-supervised a number of PhD and MSc students through their industry-based projects, helping lower the barriers in applying academic research and approaches to real world problems within the constraints of industry.

Mott MacDonald
Nature Services: Protecting and enhancing nature through our integrated offering

Nature is fast rising up corporate and political agendas. During the past 18 months, Mott MacDonald has been at the forefront, pioneering an integrated Nature Services consultancy offering to proactively support development initiatives and businesses in protecting and enhancing nature through their operations. We draw on our core Nature Services to provide a unified approach that meets – and exceeds - our client needs, with a central focus on nature recovery and enhancement. Our innovative strategies provide truly sustainable solutions that ensure long-term protection and enrichment of biodiversity, and our ongoing collaboration with the sector is fostering a shift in mindset and behaviour across the whole sector, that recognises the benefits of nature recovery and biodiversity for both business and society as a whole.

Mott MacDonald
Moata Carbon Portal: Democratised decarbonisation in the water sector

Mott MacDonald addresses climate change and performance transformation in the UK water sector by combining domain consultancy with the Moata Carbon Portal (MCP), its digital infrastructure decarbonisation tool. The tool aims to empower professionals with full or limited carbon experience to collaborate on carbon reduction projects. This democratised decarbonisation approach invites teams and companies to work together and deliver wider benefits. Insights from MCP have supported nearly all UK water companies, with over 200 users creating more than 8,000 designs. Its adoption has led to a 5x digital revenue increase for Mott MacDonald and has significantly improved client performance and work efficiencies, with notable carbon reductions in projects for Southern Water, Yorkshire Water, and Wessex Water. Finally, the domain consultancy combined with the MCP has simplified the transition to PAS2080 compliance for four water companies, advancing their goals to meet infrastructure’s low-carbon global standard.

Mott MacDonald Bentley

Mott MacDonald Bentley provides fully integrated civil engineering feasibility, design, construction and commissioning services to the UK water sector. MMB was formed specifically to deliver long-term, high-volume capital programmes collaboratively with water companies. With a focus on innovation, affordability, and flexibility, since securing its first contracts with Yorkshire Water in AMP3, MMB has grown to deliver work for eight of the largest water companies in the UK. Esholt Sewage Treatment Works (STW) is one scheme that is a prime example of working in close collaboration with our clients and supply chain, to deliver projects all the way from feasibility through to construction, commissioning, and handover - with a focus on providing great outcomes.

PJA

PJA offers unparalleled support for their team enabling them to deliver the very best engineering, transport and placemaking services for their clients. The PJA Water Resources Team is committed to investment in our team though training to ensure that we offer the most current and relevant service to our clients. The Water Resources Team offers advice and support regarding flood risk, flood modelling and mitigation, river restorations, SuDS, wastewater strategies and water neutrality and efficiency measures.

Stantec

Stantec is at the cutting edge of innovative delivery within water and environment. We collaborate with customers and delivery partners to create community-focused, sustainable, economic, and digital initiatives.We create groundbreaking solutions like the UK's first Integrated Constructed Wetland to treat all-flows and industry-leading smart water networks for long-term resilience using our global experience. Our experts support regulators and governments to create sector-specific guidelines.Stantec prioritises sustainability in all operations and achieved operational carbon neutrality, a major milestone in the progressive route to science-based operational net zero and achieving BSI PAS 2080 accreditation.A trusted advisor to government bodies, water companies, regulators, and other stakeholders we are revolutionising the industry, enabling, and promoting positive changes to policy and practice including through our work in water quality and storm overflows.

Stomor

The Flood Risk and Drainage Team at Stomor Ltd is small but passionate about delivering high quality work, with a view to providing systemic changes to how communities use energy and impact the planet. They use innovative and sustainable methods to cut down on emissions during a project, extend the lifespan of a completed project, and introduce green infrastructure to new developments. Stomor have pioneered SuDS schemes since inception in 2007. We provide a continuing focus on sustainable objectives, attempting to increase green infrastructure by educating and informing staff and Clients about sustainability enhancements and best practice across our specialist areas of the industry. We also provide a continuing focus on our people: we strive to develop individuals at the forefront of civil engineering consultancy and provide a platform for them to display their innovative work.

WSP

WSP is committed to integrating sustainability at scale and helping our sector to grow and innovate. Our Future Ready programme sets WSP apart – challenging every person at WSP to consider the future on every project - from climate change to net zero, water availability to long-term social needs. From advising the Office of Environmental Protection on effective streamlining of the EIA process to developing a nature strategy for the UK’s largest landowner and working with a water company to re-naturalise a reservoir. As well as leading implementation of National Highways’ net zero plan and updating UK Government’s noise guidance for wind turbines. We’re proud of our work but we’re not complacent. Together, we’ll continue to innovate and show that great environmental leadership is great business. And we’ll continue to use our voice to champion a progressive environmental agenda for our sector and with government.