What zero carbon means to non-technical disciplines

At Cundall we are committed to creating change and driving the agenda towards a more sustainable future. Our recent pledge to achieve zero carbon design on all projects by 2030 marks the next important step in our sustainability journey.

We have taken a bottom-up approach to making this goal a reality, so everyone in the business has a role to play. Whilst our incredible engineers make up a large part of our workforce, we also have a global business support team that are paving their own zero carbon pathways.

To shine the spotlight on our non-technical disciplines at Cundall, I’ve asked some of our advocates to share insights into what zero carbon means to their team and how they can reduce their carbon emissions. Personally, I’m excited to be an advocate representing the marketing and bids team alongside Bianca Spoeala and Sophia Large, where we have identified three key focus areas: delivering work-winning submissions, sustainable events and communications.

Here is what some of our advocates across the finance, HR, legal and business support teams have to say:

“The Cundall legal team are looking at ways in which we can support our business on our journey to achieve zero carbon design on all our projects by 2030. For example, we intend to work with the business to understand what provisions we can include in our standard terms and conditions to support our goals, and how we can potentially amend any onerous clauses regarding zero carbon design, contained in any bespoke appointments we receive. We are also keeping an eye on any legislative and market developments which may shape any potential legal solutions we can offer in support of our zero carbon goals. As a team, we have reduced our paper usage and we are using technological solutions wherever possible.”

Danielle Grainger, Legal Assistant

“Learning and Development plays a key role in supporting the practice in achieving zero carbon design by 2030. We need to understand the current skills gaps that exist, work with internal and external subject matter experts to develop training to close these gaps, and identify what future learning needs may arise. Upskilling our employees so they are competent to deliver zero carbon design whilst building their confidence to challenge customer and industry thinking is important to ensure Cundall remains a consultant of choice in the zero carbon journey.”

Louise Worth, Learning & Development Manager

“The submissions team working on the many bids and proposals that Cundall submit year-round are in a unique position in that we are at the very start of a project’s lifecycle. It is an opportunity for us to inform the client that engaging with zero carbon is no longer just an optional extra, but a necessity. Ensuring we start a clear conversation with clients about our zero carbon design journey is of the utmost importance, because if we don’t start the conversation at bid stage, then it will be difficult to do so once the project has kicked off.”

Sophia Large, Bid Coordinator

“Zero Carbon Design 2030 is not only playing a vital role for our technical team in delivering zero carbon projects in the near future, but it also plays a big part within the admin function. As our offices worldwide very much reflect our overall vision of being a leading consultant in net zero design, our whole office operation is constantly focusing on reducing our negative impact on the environment. This is achieved through reducing energy and other consumables and increasing awareness about environmental and wellbeing aspects. Our aim is to practice what we preach across every Cundall office, continuously educating stakeholders about our great initiatives through showcasing what we are achieving with them.”

Martin Baeuerle, Operations Manager

“As a finance team, we started out with little knowledge of zero carbon, but already this is changing. One of the ways in which we can have an immediate impact is to only print documents when absolutely necessary. Moving forwards, we will investigate more efficient and sustainable ways in which we can work with our suppliers and clients. We will undertake research to understand how they are approaching this both ethically and logically, so we can work together to achieve our zero carbon ambitions by 2030."

Charlotte Love, Finance Assistant

I look forward to seeing what we can achieve across all corners of the business as we work towards our first milestone, achieving zero carbon pathways for all teams and projects by December 2022.