How to make environmental consideration integral to all parts of the business
Written by Aditi Saxena
Bond Bryan is a large practice of architects, landscape architects, interior designers, and masterplanners, with 8 offices across the UK, employing over 180 staff.
Our journey of making this shift really began in 2018 when we won the RIBA Yorkshire Sustainability Award for the Bond Bryan designed National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure, in Doncaster.
This building was designed to achieve a BREEAM excellent rating and was the impetus for us to strive for high standards on all our projects. We realised that we had the capabilities to deliver projects that were considerate of the environment and wanted to continue moving in this positive direction.
The built environment sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases and is responsible for 37 per cent of global emissions.
Given these shocking facts we realised we needed to be more accountable and change from the business as usual, if we were to remain within the global temperature limits set out in the Paris Agreement. We knew what we wanted to do but didn’t necessarily know how we were going to do it.
We began by bringing together passionate individuals from across our business into a ‘think tank’ which we call the ‘Circular Thinking’ group.
We split the group into teams focused on our business operations and then the services we provide.
We began by educating ourselves on the relevant topics and terminology related to sustainability, and followed guidance by key organisations, such as the UK government, Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and the UK Green Building Council, amongst many other sources.
We then formulated strategies around what we needed to do, why, and how we were going to do it.
The first major step we took was to understand how to measure our own business carbon footprint and then start measuring it, with a base year of 2019.
Over the years we have understood the process better and refined it to make our footprint as accurate as it can be.
This has really allowed us to set targets for ourselves and to define a trajectory towards becoming a net zero carbon business by 2030. The next step in our journey is to externally verify our carbon footprint so that we can be confident that we have captured everything that we should be considering.
Whilst our operations team focused on the data side of things, we knew that to truly change how we operated and delivered our services, we needed a cultural shift.
For this we needed all our staff to understand what we were doing, and why, and then to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to help us meet our ambitious goals.
We began by appointing ‘sustainability specialists’, from our Circular Thinking group in each of our studios.
These were members of our ‘Circular Thinking’ group who acted as champions to guide staff but also to continuously push sustainability in every aspect of our business.
Alongside this, we began sharing knowledge and upskilling our staff through a training programme that allowed for 50 per cent of Continuous Professional Development to be on sustainability related topics.
From 2023, we began holding dedicated training days to discuss environmental sustainability in all aspects of the business. This allowed us not only to start talking about it but also upskilling and understanding key terminology and principles.
Once we felt confident that staff understood the basics, we began implementing principles (operational and service based) across the practice.
We tied the wider global climate crisis to how it was impacting individuals, and this really turned the tide on getting our staff to understand the importance and begin to change from the ‘business as usual’ approach.
It took us almost three years to research and understand the principles, and since last year we have been embedding those learnings into all aspects of the business.
We empowered our staff to step up into roles that allowed them to upskill and develop from within. This has allowed us to truly understand the processes, and thus be best placed to make further improvements.
We have set ourselves an ambitious target to be a net zero carbon practice by 2030.
However, we realise that carbon is only one part of environmental sustainability, so now we are pushing ourselves further to not only minimise negative impact, but to enhance the environment around us.
We were recently recognised in the inaugural ‘Regenerative Architecture Index’ as ‘ones to watch’ for the practices we are implementing, and we are currently reviewing B-Corporation Certification.
The iterative process of us improving our own practice means we are now well equipped to support those we work with, clients, consultants, and the wider community. This journey has allowed us to become more responsible citizens of planet earth.
This blog post has been produced for the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce as part of the 2024 – 2025 Sustainable Business Series campaign.
The Sustainable Business Series is a flagship Chamber campaign, supporting organisations to take action on sustainability and Net-Zero targets. With a focus on key sustainable business topics, the 2024 – 2025 Sustainable Business Series will be delivered throughout the year, with the Series’ Conference taking place in November 2024. The Series will also include three themed seminars as well as digital content, over the 12-month campaign.
Thanks to our Headline Sponsors – Lloyds Banking Group and University College Birmingham – all Sustainable Business Series events are free to attend. Interested readers can find out more and register to attend Sustainable Business Series events here.