Corporate Responsibility Review
Atkins is committed to acting responsibly towards all our stakeholders and to taking a leadership position within our sector.
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Our beliefs
Atkins is committed to acting responsibly towards all our stakeholders and to taking a leadership position within our sector. We publish information about our performance on our website (www.atkinsglobal.com/cr) and summarise the major issues and developments during the year here.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a serious issue for all Atkins stakeholders, including governments, public and private sectors and communities across the world. We continue to incorporate sustainability into our own operations, to raise awareness among our employees and clients and to take a leadership role in the delivery of a low-carbon economy in the geographies in which we operate.
A highlight of the year was the design, completion and occupation of Atkins’ new Bristol office which achieved a BREEAM excellent rating. Sustainable features of the building include a chilled beam cooling system, a ground source heat pump, rainwater harvesting and low-water usage sanitary ware. During construction high levels of recycling were achieved and the project involved responsible local sourcing of materials and labour.
In addition, one of our technical experts has been on pro bono secondment to the UK Construction Industry Council (CIC) to help develop the Strategy for Sustainable Construction as a joint industry and government initiative.
Carbon Critical Design
Our efforts continued during the year to focus on embedding into all our services the challenges and opportunities a carbon critical economy will bring.
Five hundred senior managers received awareness training during the year, staff received information about our activities at a Group conference and an awareness DVD was circulated to managers throughout the Group to help them engage their teams.
The chief executive delivered 16 keynote speeches on the subject to industry bodies such as the Building Business Leaders Forum, Construction Industry Council, Institution of Civil Engineers, Environment Industries Commission, Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and the Middle East Economic Digest.
We also invested £1m during the year to develop a suite of carbon calculators to assist in the design and engineering of low-carbon projects. Two calculators are already in daily use. The first, developed by Faithful+Gould, is freely available (via www.fgould.com/carbon-calculator) and is aimed at boosting the green credentials of the construction industry. It enables the relative cost benefits and risks of low carbon techniques and technology to be assessed and allow budget-plausible designs. The second tool is believed to be the first of its kind and, as its name suggests, the Remediation Options Carbon Calculator (ROCC) (available at www.atkinsrocc.com) is geared towards assessing the emissions associated with a range of land remediation work.
Atkins has continued to engage with more clients on Carbon Critical Design, resulting in more exemplar projects coming to fruition during the last 12 months:
Green Asphalt – We collaborated with Northamptonshire County Council to develop and install the first 100% recycled cold asphalt surface course. The sustainable benefits include production carbon emissions reduced by more than 90% compared with a hot-mix asphalt, 100% recycled content and complete reuse of aggregate feedstock. Production fuel consumption was also reduced by 99%.
Orient Way Rail Depot – Our carbon critical philosophy has helped us to achieve a prestigious award from the Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Awards Scheme (CEEQUAL) for a key transport project in East London linked to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Taleem Flagship Campus – Our design for Taleem aims to create the first LEED certified school in the Middle East whilst responding to the challenges of location and climate. Carbon Critical Design features include the façade, lighting, landscaping, materials and energy use.
Atkins Remote Technology (ArT) – Developed by our Asset Management business, this is a web-based energy management system that not only collects energy data but also allows remote control of heating and cooling systems. The technology produces an average energy saving of 34% and is installed at 350 client locations in the UK. The system is also being piloted in our own operations.
Climate Change Action Plan – We implemented carbon saving measures for the Metropolitan Police enabling them to reduce carbon emissions by 4% in the first year of a three-year programme.
Energy Efficiency and Renewables for Schools – This project determined energy performance and potential for energy efficiency projects for 170 primary and secondary schools throughout the UK.
Dezhou Urban Planning – We were awarded the top prize at an international design competition for urban planning in Dezhou, People’s Republic of China. Our pioneering concept included sustainable planning principles, a unique urban design, and incorporated the city’s renewable energy initiatives.
Safety leadership
Atkins remains strongly committed to key improvements in health and safety beyond those required by law. During the year our chief executive became chair of the Construction Industry Council (CIC), following his position as chair of the Health & Safety Committee, and we continued to work with industry through national forums such as the Strategic Health and Safety Forum, CIC Health & Safety Committee, Consultants Health & Safety Forum and BuildSafe UAE.
The Rail business had a serious near-miss when four employees could have been hit by a train. These employees now feature in a powerful short film which has been produced to explain the severity of the incident. This film has been adopted as a training tool by other rail organisations such as Network Rail and was recognised in the HSBC Rail Business Awards for Safety and Security Excellence.
The Highways and Transportation business has set an industry standard for designing out risks in projects by using an approach that is based on the simple concept of traffic lights: Red, Amber and Green (RAG). Originally used on the design for Heathrow Terminal 5, the RAG approach was developed for use in projects for the Highways Agency, and has since been adopted as the industry standard by companies such as Arup, Halcrow and Mott MacDonald.
We continued to improve safety leadership within Atkins. Our Board directors at the year-end have undertaken the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) test. During the year, senior management have attended the Atkins Director Safety Tour training course and the Safety Leadership programme in the Rail business was expanded to include our supply chain. We also undertook a safety, health and environment survey in the UK for the first time, to which over 6,500 staff responded. This has helped us to identify Atkins’ strengths and weaknesses, providing valuable input to our 2009 improvement plan.