HighlightsEnvironmentalSocialGovernanceProjectsDownload Centre

What is ESG?

It’s who we are.
It’s what we do.
It’s why we grow.

ESG – our environmental, social and governance standards – enables us to define and evidence a purpose to our clients, our people and our investors, all of whom have increasingly high expectations.

This is why ESG underpins our UK growth strategy and we’ve set out our ESG ambitions for the next three years. So we’ve evolved our reporting approach to evidence our action coherently across the full ESG spectrum for the first time here.

Read more about what ESG means to WSP in the downloadable update.

DOWNLOAD UK ESG UPDATE

Highlights

reduction in operational carbon emissions from our 2018 baseline
56% 56%
additional social value generated
£22 million £22 million
electricity from certified green energy sources
49% 49%
Payment terms agreed with SMEs supporting public sector contracts through our social value supply chain charter
30 days 30 days
Waste sent to landfill
0 0
Hours of volunteering carried out by our people in 2021
5885 5885

“At WSP in the UK, we know that being a responsible business with a clear purpose matters. It matters to our people and future recruits, to our clients, and to our growth.

We have long been advocating for and championing many of the vital areas ESG embraces – including net-zero, biodiversity, inclusion and diversity, safety, health and wellbeing, and social value creation in the communities where we work.

This is why we’ve put purpose at the heart of our UK Growth Strategy to 2024. We want to look at our progress each year through the lens of ESG, and see the difference we are making.”

Rachel Skinner
UK Director of Government Relations & Corporate Responsibility

Companies have an important role to play in contributing to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Globally, WSP has identified ten SDGs where our business has the greatest potential to contribute through our client work and in our own operations. We know that our clients and project work helps to support more of the SDGs beyond the ten listed. This subset is the group where we have the greatest ability to influence.

Environmental

We have bold ambitions for the future, but how we get there is just as important. We are committed to measuring and improving environmental performance and practices in our operations and within our supply chain.

"There is a real sense of urgency around the climate crisis and our response to it as a business. In 2020 we made a commitment to halve the carbon footprint of all our designs and advice by 2030 – we wanted to go above and beyond industry standards and what is required of us by the UK Government. 

Everything is changing, from the supply chain and how our contracts and projects run to how our investors, clients, and colleagues are thinking. It’s no longer just the sustainability consultants who are driving this change, everyone is taking responsibility and coordinating their efforts to make the most impact."

Charlotte Downes 
Net Zero Engineer

Img-Web-ESG-Environmental-Climate-Plan

Climate Transition Plan

Our Climate Transition Plan provides an overview of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, our net zero commitment and key strategies we will implement to achieve these targets.

Download the plan
img-web-esg-related-services

Going Net Zero at WSP

We’re proud to be the first company in our sector to make such ambitious commitments to limit the effects of climate change.

Read more

Social

Put simply, social value is about using every aspect of our business and operations to make a positive difference to the communities we work in. By creating social value, we enrich communities, grow social resilience and change lives for the better.

Social value measurement sits at the heart of the “S” of our ESG delivery strategy. Taking a leadership position, we have set a goal to generate and measure at least £120m additional verified social value over the next three years.

"Social value is about using every aspect of our business and operations to make a positive difference to the communities we work in. By creating social value, we enrich communities, grow social resilience and change lives for the better. 

Our goal is that social value becomes business norm – we believe we can play a big part in influencing and educating ourselves and industry at large. We see social value generation as the thread that combines so much of the full ESG spectrum – it fosters joined up thinking between parts of the organisation to deliver jointly and create bigger impact."

Emily Binning
Director, Corporate ESG

thumbnail-volunteering

Volunteering to refurbish playgrounds

As part of our professional design services contract for Lincolnshire County Council’s highways department, our team coordinated and took part in volunteering days to transform play areas.

Read more
thumbnail-diversity

UK Diversity & Inclusion strategy

Our new D&I strategy for 2021-24 seeks to build a culture where differences of all kinds are celebrated and valued.

Read more

Governance

The commitments we have made to ESG are fundamental and non-negotiable. We are driven by our values of leading with integrity, empowering our diverse community, and leveraging our expertise for the benefit of all our stakeholders.

"Over the last couple of years, we’ve transformed WSP’s UK procurement function – from focusing mainly on the transactional, contracting side of managing suppliers to looking deeply at how we can better serve the business and its overall purpose by integrating ESG. 

Rather than ticking off quick wins, we’ve created a formal ESG procurement programme – this gives us the foundations to partner with stakeholders and embed ESG in procurement across WSP."

Navid Amin
Head of Procurement 

thumbnail-ethics

Ethics Integrity

WSP’s Compliance and Ethics Program, which includes our anti-corruption and privacy policies, is a critical component to our success as a world-class professional services firm.

Read more
thumbnail-social-value-changemaker

The Social Value Changemaker

Procurement Program Manager, Mayuri Vyas, is changing mindsets and behaviours through sustainable procurement and social value.

Read more

Sustainable Projects in the UK

We help our clients achieve their Future Ready ambitions by providing strategic advice, technical expertise, and a passion for impactful results.

UK National Highways Net Zero

National Highways' net zero carbon plan

WSP was lead advisor to National Highways in developing and implementing an ambitious roadmap to net zero by 2050.

Read more
case-study-kings-college

Kings College

We’ve converted an under-used post second world war building into an energy-efficient, low-carbon learning and exhibition space – and we’ve done it in the most sustainable manner possible, by retaining 85% of the old structure.

Read more
case-study-making-health-priority

Making health a priority for UK communities

Health and wellbeing is at the heart of our work with UK local authorities, replacing the decades-old obsession with single-occupancy car movement. 

Read more

Download Centre

For all the key facts on a page, download the ESG highlights summary.

DOWNLOAD SUMMARY
img-web-esg-related-job-opportunities_1

Put your ingenuity forward

Be an agent of change and join a collaborative team of experts who thrive on challenges and unconventional thinking.

View our opportunities
Thn-Web-Article-2020-ESG-Report

Positive & Bold - Change Agents

At WSP, we are agents of change who dare to challenge the status quo and act with purpose to create lasting positive impacts. Our 2021 Global ESG Report is a testament of our commitments.

Download ESG Global Report