OPINION
BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Amey Consulting’s Managing Director Alex Gilbert warns that the UK needs new skills
and new thinking if it is to meet its net zero targets
The need to build a more sustainable future
is not in doubt. Tackling climate change is
the single most critical task for businesses and
governments across the globe, and communities
worldwide are demanding action. At home, the
UK Government has set out clear net zero targets.
But the fact is that the UK cannot deliver on the
Government’s green ambition without new skills
and new thinking.
Building this sustainable future – with more
sustainable infrastructure, transport links,
communities and a greener economy – rests on
a robust green skills pipeline. But we have huge
deficit in green skills in the UK, while demand for
those skills has never been greater and will continue
to grow. This skills gap is something we must tackle
urgently.
At Amey, we have our own sustainability team of
more than 100 professionals looking at all aspects
of the environmental impact across our projects.
This covers not just carbon, but also waste, ecology,
natural landscapes, noise levels and social impact.
This team is key to what we do, both in-house and in
the design and planning of infrastructure and client
services. But although action like this is important,
it is not enough on either a business or societal
level.
INVESTING IN FUTURE TALENT
That is why our focus is on investment in future
10 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2022
talent in this critical area. To this end, Amey’s
Consulting business has developed a pioneering
apprenticeship programme in partnership with
industry experts, academics at the University
of Coventry and the Institute of Environmental
Management and Assessment (IEMA). This
will develop and equip the next generation of
employees with the skills to support the UK in
reducing our carbon footprint and moving towards
providing infrastructure solutions for life.
Fully funded, the five-year course gives school
leavers the opportunity to work towards an
Environmental Management degree while gaining
experience on some of our flagship projects. These
include major infrastructure projects from the
Transpennine and Wales & Borders rail upgrades to
the A66 road improvement programme for National
Highways.
This first-class practical experience sits alongside
academic modules developing key carbon and
climate change skills. These cover environmental
assessment and ecology, air quality, carbon
modelling and landscape architecture, along with a
detailed understanding of product manufacturing
processes and their embedded carbon. This,
combined with our advisory and analytical skills
in managing and interpreting data, will give new
insights into environmental impact and the changes
we can make.
Amey’s apprenticeship scheme has been met
with great enthusiasm by academia. Sharing our
determination to deliver a programme that makes
a real diŽ erence when it comes to tackling climate
change, academics place great value on the fact that
students get such valuable and high-quality firsthand
experience to support their academic studies.
Importantly, apprenticeship programmes like this
one also promote inclusion, attracting a diverse
pool of talent to bring fresh perspectives and
experience to this critical area. Not everyone sees
a traditional degree as the best option. For some, it
is not an option at all. But opening up opportunity
to all is essential if we are to meet the scale of the
challenge we face.
Apprenticeship programmes like Amey’s are
critical to the future. But we must do more, and
we cannot aŽ ord to think of green jobs as simply
those directly in conservation or with a green
label. If we are to meet the scale of the challenge of
achieving net zero by 2050 then we need to change
our thinking. All jobs must be green jobs and an
environmental thread must run through every role
across projects and across sectors.
SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE
Incorporating sustainability into business at every
level and in every function is critical. It should
feature in job descriptions, in development plans
and performance reviews. We cannot aŽ ord for
sustainability or green skills to remain an add on
in how we manage our work whether for clients or
in-house.
At Amey, sustainability is now embedded
throughout the organisation. We encourage
innovation in this critical area from each and every
one of our employees and we have set out a clear
roadmap to net zero as part of our commitment to
creating clean, green environments for all.
Every solution that Amey Consulting designs will
be net zero by 2030 and we will be a totally net zero
organisation by 2040. This commitment does not
rest on simply oŽ setting our emissions but instead it
is about realising absolute reductions. Our ethos is
to ensure we provide infrastructure solutions for life
and that sustain life.
We cannot limit the scale of our ambition when
it comes to achieving net zero. It must dominate
our thinking and underpin all that we do in terms
of design and delivery. Most importantly, we
must make sure we develop talent in this critical
area, putting the right skills in place to tackle the
challenge. If we do not invest now, we will have le—
it too late.
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