WSP Celebrates Major Wins at New Civil Engineering Awards 2024

WSP is proud to have been not only shortlisted for seven categories at the New Civil Engineering annual awards in 2024, but to win the following four awards:

03 July 2024 - United Kingdom

CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR. Our commendation stated that the judges were impressed with our comprehensive and fluent presentation addressing all aspects of our business model. We were lauded for balancing technical, social, and environmental outcomes with creating the best careers for our staff. The judges particularly appreciated our growth in business from acquisition that was ‘expertise-led’, resulting in opportunities to expand into new sectors of business.

Impact in Energy. This award recognised our efforts in aligning with the needs of wider society, our clients, and the wider supply chain. We were commended for demonstrating leadership in supporting the UK government on carbon capture and storage, a testament to our commitment to sustainable energy solutions.

Advisory Services Provider of the Year, a new category for 2024. The judges highlighted our focus on sustainability and meeting clients’ needs. Our breadth of capability, encompassing professional and technical skills and geographical coverage, was also praised. This award underscored our dedication to providing comprehensive advisory services.

Our successful integration of Capita Real Estate (REI), GL Hearn, and the Environment & Infrastructure business ("E&I") of John Wood Group plc won WSP the award for Best Delivery of Business Change. The judges were particularly impressed by our people-first approach. We took the time to understand how people would feel and ensured they were supported throughout the process. This award affirmed our commitment to prioritising our people during times of change.

The award wins are a testament to WSP’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and a people-first approach. As we continue to strive for excellence, these awards serve as a reminder of our capabilities and the impact we can make in the engineering world.

President and CEO for EMEIA Mark Naysmith was delighted with our four award wins, and commented:

It’s brilliant to see the dedication, innovation and passion of our people recognised in this way. What you do enables us to create solutions that transform the communities in which we live and work. Thank you, everyone, for your professionalism and expertise, and for always going the extra mile to become trusted advisors for our clients.

Mark Naysmith President and CEO for EMEIA

Mark Naysmith President and CEO for EMEIA

Paul Reilly, UK Deputy CEO, said he was really proud of the UK & Ireland and iCRC workforce, and encouraged everyone to keep at it, saying “We’ve got the momentum, we’re winning so many major contracts, and we’re at the heart of so many major transitions across the UK… it feels good that WSP is earning the trust of so many great clients and is getting the recognition our people deserve.”

Consultancy of the Year

WSP's journey is one of resilience, collaboration, and transformative impact. Over the past 18 months, WSP has been on an upward trajectory. Amidst a landscape of challenges and opportunities, we have steadily grown, diversifying our expertise in new sectors. Our commitment to innovation remains unwavering as we strive for a sustainable future, shaping environments for the people who use them.

We believe that how we do things really matters. We integrate seamlessly into our client teams, working flexibly to allow them to fully benefit from our skills and expertise. Our clients are at the heart of what we do. During this period, we have co-created high-quality projects for our clients and communities, working tirelessly to deliver on our promises, through collaboration and partnership with our clients, partners and communities.

Impact in Energy

WSP's energy team has led industry innovation and sustainability over the past 18 months, achieving remarkable growth in projects, personnel and revenue. Notably, our entry into the nuclear market and our pivotal role in pioneering projects like in Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Greenlink Interconnector have underscored our commitment to pushing boundaries in the energy sector. As lead technical advisor to the UK Government's CCUS program, we're shaping the nation's energy future and contributing to the government's goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Additionally, our achievements in carbon management standards, such as achieving PAS2080 accreditation, demonstrate our dedication to carbon reduction. Looking ahead, our Future Ready programme and focus on creating social value position us to continue driving positive change and forging a sustainable energy future.

Advisory Services Provider of the Year – NEW CATEGORY FOR 2024

The past decade has seen a convergence of technically-led civil engineering specialists like WSP with management consultancy and advisory services providers. Our 2021-2024 UK strategy set a goal for advisory services to represent 40% of revenue by 2024, this has been achieved a year early. We’ve now built a top-tier advisory services capability across all strategic sectors in the past two years. This means we can better meet clients’ needs at any stage of their project journey. We’ve also created new opportunities for our people and added diversity to our work to provide more resilience in periods of economic uncertainty. Our investments have included new training programmes, investment in new management consultancy services through acquisition and organic growth as well as strategic marketing and business development initiatives. New and existing clients are now benefiting from this improved offer, accessing strategic consultancy advice grounded in our heritage of deep technical excellence.

Best Delivery of Business Change

WSP aspires to be the undisputed leader in our industry. WSP's UK Growth Strategy for 2022 – 2024 is centred around our people, clients, and projects. A key enabler to the growth strategy has been the recent acquisitions which have expanded our service offerings, benefited clients, and extended our footprint into adjacent markets. Our Integration Project Management Office (PMO) team played a pivotal role in overseeing the acquisitions of Capita Real Estate & Infrastructure, GL Hearn and the Environment & Infrastructure business ("E&I") of John Wood Group plc achieving remarkable results. The expertise gained from these acquisitions allows WSP to enhance its delivery for clients by effectively consolidating knowledge and expertise across sectors and capabilities, offering enhanced and comprehensive solutions tailored to our clients' unique needs.

About the NCE Awards

This year has seen another outstanding industry response to the call to be recognised as the best of the best of civil engineering consultancies with over 140 entries.

After review by a panel of more than 70 expert judges, the winners of the 2024 NCE Awards were celebrated by more than 400 key industry figures gathered at a gala ceremony held on 2 July 2024 at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London.

The NCE Awards were a truly inspiring gathering of industry leaders celebrating the most innovative, impactful and inspirational firms operating in civil engineering.

New Civil Engineer editor Gavin Pearson said:

"These awards recognise the best of the best in civil engineering consultancies and associated organisations that support them to do their work in the UK.

"Be it impact in their sector, creating great places to work or driving innovation, diversity and social impact."

"Our judges were impressed with the remarkable calibre and range of entries across the award categories, with the winners providing a terrific benchmark of best practice."