Sustainability Consultancy Services
As Europe’s leading architecture and engineering consultancy, Sweco has the vast and diverse sustainability consultancy expertise to contribute to transform society together with its clients across all sectors. Operating at the heart of the green transition, our 22,000 architects, designers and engineers work with organisations of all types to optimise solutions for major challenges across the built environment, transportation networks and critical infrastructure.
Sustainablilty consultancy.
Transformed.
Solving the greatest societal challenges of our time is more relevant, demanding and inspiring than even before. We are proud to be at the centre of the green transition with sustainability consultancy that is embedded into our portfolio of Buildings, Transportation, Water, Energy and Environmental projects – as we combine the collective knowledge of more than 22,000 architects, engineers and multi-disciplinary experts to co-create solutions with our clients that transform societies.
Our approach to the green transition enables us to offer our partners a combination of global expertise and local understanding for the UK market, adapted to each business in their own regional requirements as we endeavour to be our clients’ most relevant and committed sustainability consultancy partner.
You’ll find us deep in the energy transition, supporting the electrification of society and industry. Our solar, wind, hydrogen, nuclear and energy storage expertise is leading the essential shift from fossil fuels. And as Europe’s most sought after consultant in systems, grids, transmission and distribution, our vision aligns with major energy investment.
You’ll find us powering the transport transition, embracing electric vehicles, improving public transport, modernising travel infrastructure. Our experience right across this field is critical for creating the sustainable transportation systems of tomorrow, and we’re part of the journey to make multi-modal, sustainable transportation the norm across communities.
Our experts are shaping the industry transition, where huge efforts and investment are committed to decarbonising entire industries. As trusted advisor to some of Europe’s most ambitious projects, we’re influencing net zero innovation in carbon capture, circular construction, energy supply and game changing battery technologies.
We’re also at the core of the urban transition, being engineers and architects with expertise as deep as it is broad. Sweco offers a wide range of ‘placemaking’ and net zero services in buildings and urban areas with sustainability as a key component. Understanding the big picture is essential for long-term success, and Sweco’s architects, engineers and environmental experts work in close-knit, autonomous teams to develop solutions to the most challenging issues for private and public clients.
In the face of pressing challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, and population growth, the water transition represents a vital shift towards sustainable and resilient water management that will benefit all of society. At Sweco, our Water team is at the heart of this transition to a more sustainable approach to water. Sweco support our clients across both the regulated and non-regulated water sectors and beyond, implementing innovative systems-based, catchment solutions that improve water management, enhance water efficiency, and protect our vital water resources.
Sustainable development
Societies, industries, companies and economies need to transition to a more sustainable future. Sweco has the greatest opportunity to influence and contribute to the transition through the tremendous number of client projects the company carries out each year. In its client projects, Sweco identifies, shapes and applies the most sustainable solutions with long-term consideration of people, the environment and society. Sweco also has a great responsibility to run its own operations sustainably, with the least possible environmental and climate impact and an inclusive culture supported by diverse competencies and based on robust business ethics.
Through our engineering, environment, design and regulatory services we believe we can play a leading role in making positive changes. We’re committed to improving our clients’ sustainability performance by fostering positive partnerships and working towards meaningful, actionable project outcomes that align with the 17 UNSDGs.
Here’s how our main areas of expertise touch some of the key UNSDGs:
Buildings and urban areas
Sweco enables solutions to reduce cities’ climate impact, adapt to climate change and mitigate the negative effects of increasing incidents of extreme weather on the built environment. The company integrates sustainability into all phases of planning, design and implementation and promotes the use of environmentally friendly materials and recycling technologies with a focus on minimising resource use and waste in buildings construction – promoting circular economy where possible and viable, as well as smart buildings solutions. Through sustainable buildings and user-conscious building performance design, Sweco also focuses on creating socially inclusive urban areas that promote health and wellbeing and enable people to thrive.
Water, energy and industry
Through its broad collaboration with energy and industry clients in Europe, Sweco contributes to the energy transition with expertise and knowledge-sharing in renewable energy production, planning and design of transmission and distribution grid, more efficient energy consumption, and technology development in areas including energy storage, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. Sweco’s experts also work to ensure access to clean water and safe sanitation, reduce air pollution, and minimise toxins through efficient chemical and waste management.
Transportation infrastructure
Sweco designs transport systems to enable tomorrow’s societies to manage growing populations and increased demand for sustainable mobility solutions. Engineers and traffic planners focus on reducing carbon emissions by expanding infrastructure for active travel by bicycle, walking and public transport; efficient solutions for logistics and distribution of goods and services; and digitalisation of transportation systems. Experts in shipping, railways, tramlines and metros specialise in the design, planning, construction and management of critical infrastructure.
As signatories to the Pledge to Net Zero and as part of our contribution to the Race to Net Zero campaign, we recognise that we must lead by example by setting ourselves ambitious internal targets.
Our three strategic perspectives
- Carry out client projects that contribute to sustainable development
The green transition is impacting society at large, facilitated by the increasing amount of capital being directed in a sustainable direction. The complexity of these issues is driving demand for Sweco’s expertise in all business segments. Sweco carries out client projects that actively support sustainable development through measures such as designing resource-efficient and resilient urban areas and buildings; developing systems for renewable energy production, transmission and storage; reducing the climate impact of industries;
expanding and restructuring transport infrastructure; and safeguarding valuable habitats and biodiversity.
- Increase sustainability performance in client projects
In close dialogue with clients, Sweco works to further improve sustainability performance in ongoing projects through optimisation of design, choice of material, resource management and work methods. Using automation, digital solutions and AI, a project’s impact on the
climate, environment, economy and society is calculated and Sweco’s experts propose appropriate measures to improve sustainability performance.
- Act sustainably in Sweco’s own operations
Sweco has a responsibility to act sustainably in its own operations and focus is on creating value for owners and clients, being an attractive and inspirational workplace for employees, reducing the environmental impact of its operations, and following business ethics and social guidelines. The company’s group-wide goals is for its operations to be climate neutral by 2040, with emissions halved by 2030, and to achieve a 40 per cent share of female employees in the Group by 2040
How we help businesses drive climate action
Strategic support
There is growing understanding that drastic change is required. But clear guidance is in short supply. Sweco’s role is to join the dots between strategic climate ambitions and practical implementation. We show our clients where efforts can be best directed.
Insight leadership
We want to go beyond simply enabling carbon reduction in our projects. We need to make it happen. To do this, we continue to raise industry awareness and make carbon reduction a contractual standard across the supply chain, by providing thought leadership as well as practical direction.
Carbon collaboration
Through a programme of continuous carbon management, including design team training and the introduction of enhanced digital techniques, we highlight new opportunities for carbon reduction to clients. If carbon management is applicable to a project but not requested, we set out the opportunities that it offers.
Digital transformation
We have developed digital techniques to clearly communicate the carbon impact of design decisions. This helps to build awareness among clients, engineers, and key stakeholders. Developments in artificial intelligence are set to automatically optimise carbon and associated costs in the near future.
Lifecycle foresight
We help clients in every sector actively challenge their supply chain, through procurement mechanisms that require carbon reduction and encourage innovation. Critically, we also ensure that focus is maintained on carbon impacts throughout project lifecycle, and post-completion.
UNSDG mindset
Each project we undertake is aligned to multiple United Nations Sustainable Development goals. Sustainability is at the heart of our building designs, transportation projects, landscape architecture visions, and infrastructure planning workflows – which allows us to truly transform society.
Supporting world-changing climate science
Sweco has been transforming how people live, work and travel for over 130 years. And now, in the Antarctic, we are undertaking some of our most critical work to date as we underpin polar climate science with innovative planning and design services.
The Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme (AIMP) is transforming how British Antarctic Survey (BAS) enables and supports frontier science. Commissioned by UKRI/NERC (UK Research and Innovation/National Environment Research Council), the multi-year investment aims to modernise research facilities in the Polar Regions to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of climate, biodiversity and ocean research in Antarctica.
We’re exceptionally proud to be continuing our work in Antarctica and applying our expertise in cold climate construction to support this critical project. The progress highlights the strength of our partnership and our combined skillsets have enabled the creation of a true polar centre of excellence.
Max Joy President of Sweco UK & Ireland
