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Sustainability has always been at the heart of WSP, embedded both within our company and underpinning everything we do. In recent years the global conversation around sustainability has begun to coalesce around three core pillars, namely environmental, social and governance: ESG. There is growing recognition that each of those three strands cannot be taken in isolation but are intrinsically linked. It’s an awareness that COVID-19 has served only to reinforce.

This was the trigger in 2020 for us to repurpose WSP’s existing Sustainability Taskforce with an expanded remit, focusing expertise in each of these three areas from across the business, into a formalized ESG Committee. This enhanced ESG function, comprising representatives from all operating regions and corporate functions who have been empowered to implement the Committee’s recommendations, now forms the global platform from which to execute our ESG program.

Indeed, the timing of its formation in the year when the pandemic took hold has been critical in enabling us to better deliver on our social responsibilities to our employees and stakeholders during one of the most challenging years we’ve ever seen. 

Further underlining the importance that we attribute to this ESG narrative, early last year we took the pioneering step to link the terms of our credit facility to our ESG performance. It’s a powerful motivation to continue scrutinizing and improving our own ESG record. WSP’s ambition is to be best-in-class. If we are to credibly claim that distinction, we must lead by example. 

Core to our ESG program is the imperative to address our GHG emissions as we globally transition to a low-carbon economy. WSP first set reduction targets in 2018, but given the pace at which climate science has evolved since then, this year we raised the level of our ambition. Our updated targets, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), align WSP with the most ambitious aim of the Paris Agreement, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. We have committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 market-based GHG emissions by 60% by 2030 from a 2018 base year, and scope 3 emissions by 30% over the same timeframe. We also aim to be net zero across our value chain by 2040.

In addressing our scope 1 and 2 emissions, we will focus on the energy efficiency of our global facilities and target vehicle fleet emissions. For example, by the end of this decade we are committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity.  

In terms of indirect upstream scope 3 emissions, we will be engaging with our suppliers, contractors and sub-consultants on their own carbon reduction targets. Our business travel footprint will also be evaluated to identify potential reduction opportunities. 

Each of our operating regions is updating its plan to reduce emissions, to match or exceed our global GHG reduction aspirations, tailored to local operations and context. 

How is WSP evaluating its climate risks and opportunities?  

In 2020, we undertook a thorough, qualitative analysis of climate-related physical and transition risks and opportunities regarding our offices, employees, services, markets and host communities. The approach we took aligns directly with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). We have begun to integrate the climate-related physical and transition risks into our Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program, to minimize the impacts of these risks on our business and people. The ERM team will work in tandem with other members of the Global ESG Committee to begin to evaluate these risks on a regular basis.  

Given that countless communities across the world rely on healthy, functioning ecosystems for their livelihoods, global biodiversity loss represents one of the biggest risks we face today. It’s estimated that over half of global GDP –   US$44 trillion – is exposed to financial risks linked to biodiversity loss. And it is clear that the impacts of climate change could further destabilize delicately balanced ecosystems already imperiled by our past actions.

With so much of our global economy tied to the Earth’s natural capital, it is vital for society that every action focused on cutting emissions and achieving net zero must simultaneously foster healthy ecosystems and the biodiversity upon which they are built. 

Driven by this reality and coinciding with the start of the United Nation’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, in 2020 WSP became a signatory of the Business for Nature initiative. As part of this global coalition, WSP is sending a clear message to policy makers and governments worldwide that tackling climate change and restoring biodiversity go hand in hand. With thousands of experts, including biologists, hydrogeologists, ecologists and toxicologists, to name but a few, WSP is positioned to assist in laying the foundations to rebuild the biodiversity upon which we rely.

How does the recent acquisition of Golder fit into WSP’s strategic goals?  

The strength of our determination to further the ESG agenda, both within our own organization and to our clients, was underlined by our recent acquisition of Golder, a globally recognized and highly respected earth sciences and environmental consulting firm. The merger of our respective environmental contingents, to form the world’s leading environmental consulting capability, is a bold statement of our intention to meet global ESG ambitions.  Combined, our two organizations will offer unrivalled ESG services to our clients, regardless of sector or geography. In short, WSP is now positioned to play a pivotal role in the decades ahead in achieving a sustainable, equitable and prosperous future for our employees, clients, stakeholders and society at large.