Entry Form
Building Services Consultancy of the Year (over 100 employees)
This award recognises the consultancy which has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the design or
refurbishment of buildings to meet client expectations of performance, including occupant satisfaction, comfort
and energy performance, throughout the operating life.
Entries should be from building services consultancies with over 100 employees and should be based on the
consultancy services delivered during the period 1 July 2013 – 30 June 2014, and be accompanied by
testimonials from clients and other partners such as contractors, and other participants in the supply chain.
Please complete the entry form below. The headings reflect the judging criteria and the judges will be looking for
you to provide the relevant information under each heading.
Submission instructions
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Entrant details
Full name
Job title
Mike Burton
Director
Organisation name
As you wish the organisation to be referred to throughout the competition.
AECOM
Entry criteria
Please outline how your entry meets each of the entry criteria – judges will be looking for
information in each of the sections when assessing the entries:
Any documents, charts or photos should be referenced and included in your supporting documents.
Summary
Please provide a synopsis of the organisation and its building performance, low carbon and energy efficiency
objectives.
At AECOM, we work to help our clients do more with less; to see and go further. Our capabilities span
the full breadth of sustainability services, from carbon management to the protection of natural
resources, with our teams fully committed to understanding occupier and developer needs to facilitate
a cost-effective, zero-carbon future. Our approach is to show our clients the full range of balanced and
proven options available and the energy savings these offer, empowering them to take ownership of
their buildings and to optimise performance.
In a world of finite resources, we want to ensure that the desire and ease to build sustainably is to the
fore, and that the buildings we create are resilient, comfortable, practical to manage, future-proofed
and adapted to our changing climate. We want to close the gap between design intent and
performance; ensure natural light is maximised; that we use less water in construction; and avoid
overheating our homes and offices.
As one of the country’s leading BREEAM assessors we have assessed over two million square metres
of office space, working with major developers including British Land, Grosvenor and Land Securities
and a broad range of clients from DHL to KPMG to The Economist. Having led the work for the London
Development Agency (LDDA) to develop the Legacy Masterplan Framework for the 2012 Olympic
Games, which included developing the energy, waste and climate change adaptation strategies, we
are providing similar services to the Rio 2016 Olympics and to many other masterplans under
development.
The advice we provide we apply to our own offices. In our London European HQ we are looking to
introduce low-energy technologies: to replace lighting with LEDs, using our floorplate more effectively
and introducing measures to ensure behaviours match the physical space. A global drive sees us
working towards a 20% reduction in carbon emissions across the company.
Investment in the recruitment, training and development of staff.
Our focus over the last 12 months has been on finding great new recruits, on providing structured
learning, career guidance and improving staff retention, making this a great place to be. An ambitious
recruitment strategy, with over 55 new graduates starting with our Buildings team this year, has seen
us top the latest New Civil Engineer’s recruitment list. Our approach is to provide all newcomers with
the best start, empowering them to take control of their careers, nurturing personal growth and setting
out clear paths forward.
This year, we have also boosted our apprenticeship scheme and through STEP we continue
sponsoring students through their studies – critical to many struggling with rising costs. We were
runners-up in the AllAboutSchoolLeavers awards programme in the Best Sponsored Degree category
and Best Level of Support (level 4 and above).
We have also invested heavily in our revamped Graduate Development Programme (GDP). By the
end of this year, 700 graduates from across the company will be on the three year scheme with
Building Services well represented. Each graduate is assigned a mentor and attends a series of
residential modules to better understand the industry and to encourage teambuilding, leadership and
innovation. The programme enables our new starters to spend time with experienced engineers and
industry leaders, and provides guidance on contracts, health and safety, risk and sustainability. One
hundred per cent of the graduates on our recently held two-day induction course rated the training as
‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’, and comments included: “One of the best experiences I’ve had since joining
AECOM” and “I went away from this event feeling happy and confident that my career with AECOM
will be a success.”
Accredited with CIBSE, ImechE, IET and ICE, we actively encourage our engineers to work towards a
professional qualification allied to their aspirations. We cover the cost of annual membership to one
professional body and when engineers achieve chartership a salary review is guaranteed. On-site
experience and the marrying of experienced mentors with developing engineers remain cornerstones
of our approach to knowledge transfer. Newly established steering groups, which include two recent
graduates, help to support those working towards professional qualifications. We run mock exams,
offer interview training and study leave days. Representatives from all the key professional bodies
contribute to the GDP scheme, providing the best advice for success. Our Leadership Potential group
follows on from our Graduate Development Programme, and we are piloting an Emerging Talent
group.
In response to concerns voiced in last year’s all-staff survey, we have developed a new career
framework, which clearly sets out ways forward within the company. This online tool, designed to be
used alongside frequent one-to-one discussions, makes planning a career and taking advantage of an
unbeatable range of opportunities within AECOM easier than ever before. The framework features role
profiles and case studies based on 12 core disciplines, and outlines the skills and behaviours needed
to succeed, as well as possible next moves.
We help our engineers to take control of their careers and to gain on-site experience. Graduates are
encouraged to spend time within other parts of the business to learn new skills, to attend external
training courses and to take up secondments or short work placements to develop their skillset. This
amounts to around 10 days training per year. Our young engineers are also actively encouraged to
join professional networks, including CIBSE’s Young Engineers Network. Support is provided with
AECOM hosting workshops and talks across the country. And we support our engineers if they would
like to take up pro bono projects overseas through organisations such as Engineers without Borders.
In London, we have just launched a pilot mentoring scheme, mCircles, with the goal of advancing
diversity though group mentoring. Our newly formed mCircles, which span London to Los Angeles, are
overseen by the Global Women’s Council and are made up of eight to 10 employees from a range of
levels and backgrounds. The groups meet to work towards career goals and development. We are
also investing to ensure our management skills grow. Over the last three months, we have run 18
‘Running an Effective Performance Management Review’ courses for over 150 delegates. We have
also run courses for our administration supervisors, and a number of communications courses.
Processes to ensure the acquisition, development and transfer of knowledge and experience within
the consultancy.
We are committed to fostering a genuine spirit of innovation and thought leadership within AECOM.
Our Creative and Technical Excellence Council drive innovative thinking across the business. So far,
the Council has pumped over £185,000 into cutting-edge research this year alone covering a range of
specialist areas from a new method to test the thermal efficiency of housing based on heat retention to
auralisation in acoustics, part of a collaboration with the University of York.
The Council also leads Innovation Focus weeks. Four hundred plus joined the last series of seminars
held earlier this year. These looked at the ways we are finding, defining and delivering innovation
across a range of projects, highlighting a new approach to urban housing and our work on Google’s
new London HQ. The week also presented a snapshot of some of the IT solutions we use to connect
with our clients and big picture ideas from large-scale engineering to new ideas around urban design.
We have also developed a series of See Further talks and publications to promote insight into a range
of key issues from resource-reckoning to the latest developments in the world of science and
technology. In this month’s See Further publication, building services sustainability expert, Alan Fox,
explores the challenges of creating low-energy science labs, explaining that the delivery of a
sustainable building is only a success if it can be operated, maintained and monitored effectively. The
See Further events are an opportunity to debate the future of our cities and our industry, bringing the
right people together to explore smart solutions to the issues our clients currently face. Launched in
December, the series has covered a range of subjects, asking key questions including: what will
London look like in 30 years time; how do we close the gap between building design and performance
and if we work from home what’s the future for commercial office space? Guest panelists have
included representatives from the Greater London Authority, Stanhope Plc., National Grid, Argent,
London First, University College London, University of East Anglia, Manchester Business School and
Balfour Beatty. Devised to share knowledge and expertise, we hosted a seminar during the UK Green
Building Council’s Embodied Carbon Week, entitled; “What are the practical ways to reduce embodied
carbon?” with guest panelists from British Land, UEA and Architype. All staff are encouraged to get
involved and to join the debate.
AECOM’s Technical Practice Groups are gateways to global technical resources and are designed to
encourage collaboration and enhance skills. They link to online discussion groups to help with problem
solving, trouble shooting and knowledge share. We want to encourage all our teams to continue
learning and developing their skills further. To this effect, we have invested time in promoting all the
many learning tools we have in-house, so that our staff are fully briefed on what’s available, including
Skillsoft, Prince 2 e-learning and NBS TV.
Set up in 2013, our Building Engineering Excellence group continues to promote best practice across
our teams. Through this group we aim to strengthen our communication channels, as well as the way
we coach and bring on new engineers. This year, the team has developed a new webinar-based
programme to disseminate the latest information and advice on a range of key topics, including Soft
Landings, lighting, public heath engineering, CHP, district heating, sustainable building, BREEAM
2014, fire engineering, BIM and renewable energy systems. Across the country we encourage regular
‘lunch and learn’, pecha kucha, and drop-in tech sessions – many of which are organised by our young
engineers.
Use of new technology and applications, innovative building techniques or processes across lighting,
heating, cooling or other services.
District energy is now recognised as an important part of the UK’s future energy mix, with the potential
to deliver low carbon energy. AECOM’s Sustainable Development Group is working on a number of
key projects that will help in developing the low carbon heat networks and district energy systems of
the future. Building on his work with CIBSE on the Application Manual on CHP in Buildings, AECOM’s
Paul Woods has been commissioned to prepare the first national Code of Practice for Heat Networks,
which will demonstrate how they should be designed for more efficient operation. We are also working
with the Energy Technology Institute on their £100million ‘Smart Heat’ programme to appraise the
economic benefits of improvements to the local energy system.
In addition, we are working with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to gather data
on the cost and performance of district heating systems delivered to date, informing future government
policies. In Wales, we are investigating the feasibility of a district heating scheme to connect major
buildings in the centre of Swansea, one of the first projects to be granted funding through the newly
formed Heat Networks Delivery Unit. Furthermore, AECOM’s Matthew Turner has been seconded to
the Combined Heat Power Association to assist with the development of the UK’s policy on district
energy.
Earlier this year, AECOM’s sustainability expert David Cheshire helped to launch TM56 Resource
Efficiency for Building Services, published by CIBSE in partnership with the Waste and Resources
Action Programme (WRAP). Authored by Cheshire, this guidance provides a greater sense of
perspective by considering the operational performance of building services and lifecycle impacts.
Resource efficiency in the built environment means reducing consumption and wastage; increasing
reuse and recycled content and ensuring end-of-life recyclability; reducing energy and water use
during construction and in-use; and using products with lower embodied carbon. These arguments
were set out in ‘Shock and Ore’, an in-depth supplement, again authored by Cheshire and published
by CIBSE. This in-depth research draws attention to building services, and looks not just at operational
performance but the full lifecycle, giving a much fuller picture and reducing the impacts of mining and
harmful by-products.
David Cheshire also co-authored CIBSE’s TM54, which launched in 2013. This new guide helps
designers estimate operational energy use of buildings at the design stage and helps to explain why
there can be a significant difference between design calculations and actual building performance,
identifying where energy savings could be made. Devised to help practitioners design, build and
manage better buildings, TM54 provides a broader understanding of where energy is used, linking
design far more closely with operation. At the launch, Argent’s Morwenna Wilson commented that this
guide is exactly what the industry needs: “What matters to us on a day-to-day basis is operational
energy, and that’s why TM54 is so useful.”
We continue to support CarbonBuzz after having played a lead technical role in developing this
important energy initiative, and we continue to add new projects to the site. We have also continued
our work in assisting the Department for Communities and Local Government in their improvements to
Part L.
We are also supporting CIBSE in vital research on design in extreme environments. Based in Abu
Dhabi, AECOM’s Sean McKeag is the lead author of a new CIBSE guide for building in hot, dry
climates. The rate of development in desert and semi-arid areas is growing rapidly, presenting
specialist challenges for those designing air-conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems in these
areas. This new guide, which includes chapters on climate conditions, construction materials and
sustainability, provides the latest insight and knowledge for working in this challenging environment
addressing issues from waste management to logistics.
Bringing all of this research to bear on our projects is vital. Scheduled to open in 2015 (now delayed
due to a devastating fire), we are currently working on the GSK Centre for Sustainable Chemistry at
the University of Nottingham, which will be housed in a new carbon-neutral laboratory - the first of its
kind in the UK. The building will serve as a hub to catalyse new collaborations with industry. It will be
unique in the UK, not only because of its design, but also in its focus on world-leading research activity
in sustainable chemistry that will aim for the highest ‘clean and green’ standards, minimising
environmental impact and ensuring that the new chemistry developed is energy and resource efficient
and sustainable. The building will be constructed from natural materials to reduce and offset embodied
energy. Meanwhile, the energy required to run the laboratory will be met by renewable sources with a
combination of photovoltaic panels and heat and power generated from a sustainable biofuel. The
building services throughout have been designed to minimise energy use where possible, and include
extensive natural ventilation. Excess energy generated by the building will provide enough carbon
credits over 25 years to offset the carbon used in its construction. This exemplar project follows on
from our groundbreaking work on the University of Nottingham’s Energy Technologies Building, the
first in-use, zero-carbon BREEAM Outstanding research centre.
Specific energy management measures taken to improve building performance.
With the University of East London’s Stratford Library our engineers faced a stiff challenge: how do
you keep a building in use at all times, even if only sporadically at night, but ensure it uses less energy
than one that shuts down after the working day is done? This building services design shows us how.
Stratford Library has an extremely low operational energy target of 100kWh/m 2, in line with Europe’s
most efficient buildings and now applied to a building in operation for far longer. Reaching this
ambitious target with a 24-7 building puts the design beyond anything previously achieved in Europe.
The building’s energy-saving measures feed into a reduction strategy far in excess of benchmark
equivalents. Ultra-efficient, low energy direct-indirect lighting systems are fitted with automatic
dimming motion sensors and daylight detection, ensuring task areas are lit only when and precisely
where needed. The design makes the most of natural light; ensuring student areas are light and airy.
These spaces achieve an excellent daylight factor of 5 – a standard school design targets a factor of 2
– meaning lights can remain switched off even on overcast days. The library’s upper floors look onto a
glazed light-well, and carefully chosen materials such as bamboo give a modern aesthetic without
compromising daylight penetration.
Space temperature and CO2 sensors have also been fitted into each zone to ensure energy is
supplied only where required. The temperature in active IT hubs is controlled by fresh air, minimising
energy usage. Heat from these spaces is recovered into the central systems and dispersed throughout
the building, reducing the need for additional heating. A review of the library’s ICT requirements was
factored into the design, including a review of hardware and practices. Energy-efficient measures from
the complex to the simple – such as ensuring computers shut down when not in use – were
incorporated into the new facility.
A key element of this low-energy design is the building’s ventilation, which is designed to maximise
heat recovery through thermal wheels with oversized air handling units (AHU) used to slow down
velocity and increase efficiency. The library uses heat generated from its in-use systems, including
ICT, making top up heating largely negligible. The oversized air handling units and very low velocity
ductwork systems reduce fan power and improve efficiency.
The building is also extremely well insulated, and the high-performing façade provides an airtight seal.
The architectural design features exceptional detailing, helping it to far exceed the minimum infiltration
requirements under the UK Government’s Part L 2010. The minimum standards allowed by Part L is
10m3/hr/m2 @50 Pa, and the notional building that makes up the target CO2 emissions rate uses
5m3/hr/m2 @50 Pa. The Stratford Library is far more efficient, achieving an ‘as built’ air permeability
rate of 2.9m3/hr/m2 @50 Pa.
Superb insulation, together with exposed thermal mass, allows for passive cooling and night cooling
strategies to be developed in peak summer (when the library shuts at night), minimising heat gain and
designing out the need for top-up heat. Extensive photovoltaic roof panelling sails over the building,
generating much of the library’s electricity. The library has exceeded Part L 2010 requirements by
more than 30% and has achieved an EPC of 30
Each energy-saving measure builds towards a reduction strategy far in excess of benchmark sector
equivalents. Operational since July 2013, and despite initial teething problems, the design is hitting
many of its energy targets, exceeding the London Plan’s target of a 20% reduction in CO 2 emissions.
UEL’s new library has been designed to get the simple things right, ensuring energy usage and
wastage is minimised, with the need for top up heat almost designed out of the building. A Soft
Landings programme is in place to fine-tune operational performance.
The introduction and use of collaborative tools and processes between your own and external
members of project teams that has contributed to improved building performance.
Our ethos is to provide practical solutions to improve building performance, whilst keeping operating
costs low. Trade-offs between costs and benefits of various elements of building specification are
commonplace throughout the design process. Decisions are often governed by various requirements
including capital expenditure and annual operating costs. But if these decisions were looked at
holistically would it improve the design process?
AECOM’s Ewan Jones in conjunction with Kingspan, a provider of sustainable products used within
the construction process, has completed detailed analysis to identify the impacts of enhanced building
envelopes within an integrated design. Focusing on four building types in three UK locations to reach
different carbon targets, this collaborative research sought to optimise building design in terms of
lifetime energy consumption, capital costs, lifetime operating costs and annual CO2 emissions.
The analysis showed that enhanced building envelopes often results in lower whole building capital
and operating costs by reducing the cost of HVAC systems and energy consumption in buildings. This
insightful research includes a methodology for detailed comparative cost modeling and explains the
impacts of adopting this approach on design decisions.
Building Information Modelling, a key tool during early design stages, can help indentify constructability
issues. Project models also facilitate estimating, procurement, clash detection, field management and
the identification of safety hazards. It’s a new collaborative of working and managing data that affects
everything we do, changing how we design not just buildings but bridges, roads and water
infrastructure. Using BIM enables us to work more closely and effectively with architects and
contractors, enabling faster and more cost-effective builds.
We have produced a new BIM manual for our teams to use, which defines a standard method of
delivering projects. Standardising our approach has allowed us to further improve communication both
internally and externally.
BIM is fast gaining traction across our business, changing how we all work. We’re currently using it on
a range of projects, including the revamp of Chester Zoo, a £30million scheme which will bring a small
bit of Asia to England’s North West. With this project we have produced an integrated 3D model of the
site that incorporates below ground infrastructure. The approach has already proven to be hugely
beneficial in coordinating the design, minimising the material taken off site, smoothing out any possible
design issues and in efficiently coordinating the complex network of below ground pipes, ducts and
cables with the complex and varied topography.
Sound quality in urban environments is an important consideration of people’s health and wellbeing.
The World Health Organisation notes that one in five Europeans is regularly exposed to noise levels at
night that could significantly damage their health. Noise is something we need to tackle to improve
everyone’s quality of life, particularly those living in an urban environment.
So, imagine the advantages of modelling the sound of a proposed road or rail link from virtually
anywhere around it? Having better tools to more accurately predict a soundfield is of benefit to us all,
giving a better understanding of a project’s possible impact.
AECOM’s Dr Alex Southern is working with the University of York on a research initiative, funded
through a Royal Society Industry Fellowship, to create digital models to place any sound within a
virtual environment generating the sense of hearing the sound as if it had been placed and recorded in
the given environment. Auralisation enables us to create acoustically enhanced buildings, but it can
also be used outside to help us plot acoustical impact and to gauge the effectiveness of mitigation
strategies. This research will add greater transparency to the building process, helping to foster more
collaborative solutions within the planning process. The aim of this research is to see the next
generation of auralisation improving the sound quality not only of buildings, but across a city improving
the quality of life.
We worked with CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, on this year’s Global Cities Report. This
year, 207 cities input into the report with details of their concerns, strategies and activities to address
risks and to take action on climate change. The report, entitled, ‘Protecting our Capital’, outlines how
these cities are protecting their populations from the effects of climate change and creating resilient
places to do business.
Environmental specification/purchasing policy.
We understand that our work matters, that we can make a difference, and we are committed to
meeting our obligations through the services we provide. From the projects we advise on, plan and
design to the way we run our own business operations, two key cornerstones of our company
philosophy are robust environmental management and the implementation of sound sustainability
principles. To demonstrate this commitment we have held the Environmental Management standard
ISO 14001 since 1995.
In last year’s staff survey, more than 80 per cent of staff felt that AECOM does take its responsibilities
towards the environment seriously, and that managers were supportive of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) activities. Each office has at least one Green Office Coordinator tasked with
coordinating activities and facilitating behavioural change, from ensuring lights are off to composting
our waste. Our Green Office Coordinators link up with our National Employee Forum, which holds
regular meetings ensuring we come up with and carry out local action plans and initiatives.
All of our staff are actively encouraged to reduce waste and to use recycled materials. A secure
printing system has been installed in our London HQ to avoid unnecessary printing. The majority of our
printed materials are produced on recycled or carbon balanced paper, through the World Land Trust.
Carbon balancing tackles climate change through projects that offset carbon dioxide emissions and
conserve biodiversity. Through land purchase of ecologically important standing forests under threat of
clearance, carbon is locked that would otherwise be released. These protected forests are then able to
continue absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. Referred to as REDD (Reduced Emissions from
Deforestation and forest Degradation), this is recognised as one of the most cost-effective ways to
arrest the rise in atmospheric CO2. According to the World Land Trust, this carbon balanced paper
has already saved 87,500 tonnes CO2e balanced, the equivalent of taking 22,400 cars off the road in
a year. However, all staff are encouraged to reduce the amount of printed materials we produce and to
opt for digital options where possible. Think before we print is a key way to reduce our overall output.
We have been named a 2014 World’s Most Ethical Company by the Ethisphere Institute, for the fourth
year in a row. This global award is awarded to companies that demonstrate leadership in embracing
good governance.
Low carbon, energy efficient and building performance accreditations.
Our mission is to help design comfortable, energy efficient, easy to manage buildings that meet their
design intent. We co-developed the original BREEAM scheme in collaboration with BRE and now have
31 licensed BREEAM assessors. We are also founding members of Soft Landings, authored the SKA
Rating scheme for offices and have held the Environmental Management standard ISO 14001 since
1995. We have at least eight CIBSE accredited non-domestic assessors and four LEED assessors.
From providing fire engineering services across the whole of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games,
including every competition to non-competition venue through development and operations, to
designing zero carbon science facilities, our projects have been recognised as exemplars.
The South West Energy Centre (SWEC) at South Devon College was named Building of the Year at
the 2014 Michelmores Western Morning News Property Awards. This, a first-of-its-kind education
facility, provides a platform for students to learn how to construct sustainable buildings and install a
range of renewable technologies in a live building environments, equipping the next generation of
engineers and contractors with the skills to contribute to a low carbon future. SWEC also picked up
Eco-Project of the Year at the same ceremony.
Splashpoint Leisure Centre in Worthing picked up a Structural Steel Design Award and a World
Architecture Festival award in sports. Our structures team carried out complex structural analysis to
design double-curved, asymmetric long-span beams, working closely with our building services team
who provided a comprehensive range of services including fire, acoustics, M&E and BREEAM
Assessment.
Our people have also been recognised for their commitment, collaborative approach and contribution
to the industry, winning the 2014 Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) Building
Services Consultancy of the Year award. The team was also shortlisted for the 2013 Sustainable
Leaders, Consultancy of the Year award, voted for by readers of edie.net and clients.
A number of our projects scooped awards at this year’s BCO Awards for London and the South East.
BBC Broadcasting House – the world’s first BREEAM Excellent media scheme - won Best Corporate
Workplace and was praised for “quite simply transforming the way the BBC delivers its services and
the way its employees communicate both with each other and their audience”. The project also picked
up the Innovation Award. Our engineers also worked on the winner of the Best Commercial
Workplace, 1 Eagle Place in London.
The 20-strong judging panel of the European Hotel Design Awards awarded the coveted New Build
Hotel of the Year to the elegant BREEAM Excellent Bulgari Hotel and Residences in London’s
exclusive Knightsbridge. A project which saw AECOM setting the services and ITC design strategy
along with peer review and construction monitoring. Mindful of its impact on the environment, this five
star design has been created with sustainability at the fore – a significant percentage of the hotel’s
energy is generated on-site via geothermal heat pumps, along with a CHP system.
Sustainability drives energy use at all levels of the design of Halley VI, the new research base for the
British Antarctic Survey. This polar star was a double winner with the Engineering News-Record,
scooping the top prize in the Education/Research and Global Project of the Year. For Halley VI, the
world’s first fully relocatable research base, these are the latest in a string of awards presented to one
of the most challenging and technically complex buildings ever delivered in the harshest climate on
earth. Halley VI also won the Sustainability prize at the 2013 Structural Awards (November) and was a
winner at the British Construction Industry Awards. Project director, Peter Ayres – himself a winner of
the ACE Professional of the Year, commented on the design: “We consider Halley VI to be a visitor,
not a resident. Low on environmental impact during construction, with an extremely efficient
environmentally aware performance lifecycle, Halley VI can be easily moved and eventually taken
apart when the time comes for it to leave the ice and be decommissioned.”
Our work on the University of Nottingham’s pioneering Energy Technologies Building helped it to pick
up the top prize in the Education category in this year’s BREEAM Awards. Designed with a host of
eco-features, including a low-energy lift, biofuel combined heat and power, heat recovery ventilation
with earth tube supply and green and brown roof areas, the judges praised it for going further than
many of the University’s other BREEAM Excellent buildings, by “including measures to reduce its own
carbon footprint, whilst also reducing that of surrounding buildings and site.” We scored a second
success with central London’s Quadrant 2 South winning in the office category, demonstrating how
historic buildings can be regenerated to combine comfortable, high-quality accommodation with
outstanding environmental performance. The judges commented on the innovative use of fuel cell
technology for wider regeneration. We also did BREEAM Assessment for two other shortlisted
projects: Southmead Hospital and the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation.
Evidence of the practical use of building performance measurement tools such as DECs, CIBSE
TM22, Soft Landings or other post occupancy evaluation tools and CarbonBuzz entries.
We have carried out a number of TM22 assessments on commercial properties as part of the Building
Performance Evaluation projects in an effort to reconcile the use of energy in buildings. This exercise
broke down the total energy use into more detail to provide a better, fuller understanding of how
energy was being consumed, which in turn helped identify potential areas of energy wastage. The
TM22 output for one of these projects has been uploaded onto Carbon Buzz. Another is scheduled for
completion in the coming month and will then be uploaded to the site.
Our work on the Building Performance Evaluation project has enabled us to help our clients identify
irregularities in their building management and operation, through which the building managers now
have a better understanding of their buildings, levels of comfort have been improved and energy
wastage reduced.
We have been working closely with the Crown Estate, implementing the CIBSE TM54 methodology to
predict operational energy use for five of their buildings, largely office spaces including completed,
under-construction and planned developments. Through this exercise, three energy use scenarios
were derived for each building, representing a series of operational variants covering low, medium and
high usage. This output helped to identify potential energy wastage, and more importantly, assisted
the Crown Estate in projecting the range of variation in energy use in their buildings depending on how
they are operated. This would in turn inform future budgeting and enable the Estate to check
conformance with environmental policies. The data generated was included in the Crown Estate’s
annual sustainability reporting. The next step would be to compare output from one of the completed
buildings with actual metered energy data.
Manchester Metropolitan University’s (MMU) new Business School has been open for two years.
Receiving energy data, MMU identified a wide discrepancy between predicted (Part L 2010) and actual
energy use in their new Business School, and they contacted AECOM to better understand where this
discrepancy originated and how a better prediction of energy consumption might be gained from
design stage information. An improved design stage prediction would then help them understand
actual performance.
This summer, we carried out a design stage review and TM54 evaluation of the Business School.
Completing a TM54 analysis of the building produced a more complete design stage prediction of the
building’s likely energy consumption. After completion this evaluation, building energy use and
operating hours consumption was provided by MMU to compare the design stage prediction of energy
use to actual data. Retrospectively updating the occupancy profile to match that in use gave an
improved design stage benchmark to measure actual performance. Our analysis identified where the
greatest difference between predicted and actual energy consumption lay. This information will help
the environment team to understand and reduce the energy use of the building.
We also provided a TM54 energy analysis service to Avon and Somerset Fire Service for the new
Hick’s Gate Fire Station and Training Centre. The analysis identified the importance of building system
control strategies and the behaviour of occupants in minimising energy consumption. This insight will
be used by the Fire Service to train building users and maintenance staff.
Encouraging clients to commit to exceed minimum standards for their projects.
TEDA H2 is a large mixed-used development in the Modern Service District of Tjanjin Province, China,
and a beacon for eco-design in the region with a top floor and roof garden showcasing low-carbon
building technologies.
China has the world’s fastest changing built environment and this project is a game-changer. Only the
fourth building to be BREEAM certified in China, securing a Very Good rating, this unique project is
also poised to be the first building to be accredited under four green building standards: China 3 Stars,
CASBEE (Japan), LEED (US) and BREEAM. Sustainable features range from rainwater harvesting to
complex integration of 60kW photovoltaic panels to power the building. High levels of insulation, a
reversible ground-source heat pump for winter heating and summer cooling, and a double-skin curtain
wall come together to create an outstanding example of sustainable building design. Our UK Building
Services team, working closely with colleagues in China, advised the client and project team on
achieving the highest possible sustainability ratings. We will be monitoring the project to see how it
performs in operation. Along with our work in China, we continue to push the sustainability agenda
across Europe, and in Russia we assessed many of the venues for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
A combination of new technologies, innovative engineering and attention to detail has helped the
world-class Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI) achieve Scotland’s first BREEAM
Outstanding rating (interim); it is expected to achieve the same rating at post-construction. This is a
successful outcome for our Edinburgh team appointed as sustainability advisors. Launched in October,
ECCI will bring together and direct high-quality research addressing the significance of climate
change. The building is a 17th Century, Category B listed high school which has been transformed into
a carbon innovation hub featuring a state-of-the-art innovation suite.
Partnering with the University of Edinburgh and Malcolm Fraser Architects, we set a series of
sustainability objectives and a targets matrix. This matrix built on the existing criteria and helped to
make the design more efficient, enabling the monitoring and management of the building from the prebuild audit through to post-construction review. Targets included a minimum of 10 per cent energy
demand provided by on-site low and zero carbon technology, a 30 per cent reduction in energy
demand and a 38% reduction in CO2 emissions; a significant reduction in water usage; and the
diversion of a minimum of 96 per cent of non-hazardous construction site waste and 99 per cent of
demolition waste from landfill. Photovoltaic panels are strategically placed to collect the highest solar
gain possible.
The building itself is a learning resource and all energy supplies including heating, cooling, water,
electric and lighting, are monitored using specialist software, Meterology. We continue to support the
ECCI on this project to ensure that the building maintains the highest levels of energy efficiency and
sustainability.
Use of a thorough, systematic commissioning process to ensure that a new or renovated building
operates efficiently and to the original performance specification from when it is first occupied and in
use.
As a member of the Soft Landings task force, we actively promote ways of ensuring building
performance is optimised, and aim to stay involved with our projects beyond completion to ensure
performance matches design.
The UEL’s new Stratford Library is a great example of a project that is being continually monitored and
assessed to maximise its operational performance. We continue to work closely with the building
management team to assist their understanding of the installed systems, to hone performance and to
further develop strategies to suit how the building is actually being used. These adjustments are
helping to lower energy use further with measured energy lower than initial stringent targets.
The scope of the Soft Landings programme implemented included a pre-construction review with the
design team and with the future building managers, looking at control options in detail, evaluating the
practicality of the design solutions and the operability of the services, as well as potential impacts on
the design and design targets.
Through the construction phase a detailed roles and responsibilities document was produced outlining
client, contractor, sub-contractor and commissioning managers responsibilities throughout the
process. A Soft Landings engineer (SLE) was engaged during construction in the run up to the
commissioning stage and witnessed the controls and metering strategies in detail, working closely with
the sub-contractors and project specialists to lead client training sessions.
A final inspection of systems in operation was undertaken on handover in conjunction with the design
engineers, with our Soft Landings expert based on site for two days a week for the first two weeks of
occupation, and one day a week for the subsequent month, working with the contractor and client to
verify that the systems were fully operational. We worked closely with the architectural team to develop
a post-occupancy evaluation to fully understand how the building was being used and operated. The
focus of this review was not just on hours of usage and key assumptions made in the design, but also
on behaviours and how spaces are being utilised, and the impacts of this usage against energy
targets. In the first 12 months post-completion, monthly – moving to quarterly - catch-up sessions have
provided the opportunity for the data to be reviewed and discussed. A full TM22 assessment will now
be made to evaluate the building performance against benchmarks and design targets, with a further
assessment to be made at the end of the second full year of occupation.
Evidence of client and occupant satisfaction with completed projects.
We have always invested considerable time and effort into finding out what our clients think of us and
the work we have done on their behalf. This year we have asked for more client feedback than ever
before, with our Buildings team receiving double the number of returned client surveys. Overall, across
all business lines the number of clients very satisfied with our service is up on last year, at a level that
is 10 per cent above the industry average. Our overall average score is up to 8.54.
We are also in the process of rolling out a new survey tool to measure client satisfaction, which is
currently being trialled in the UK and Europe. This process has been designed to allow clients to give
us quick, easy and direct feedback, which will enable us to fine-tune the services we offer and better
respond to their needs.
“In order to align with our vision for this research, our goal was for ETB to lead by example as a highly
efficient structure in its own right – and AECOM helped us achieve that.” Chris Jagger, Chief Estates
Officer, University of Nottingham.
“We have a great degree of trust in AECOM. This assignment has meant that we have been working
with a number of new AECOM team members and the team’s work ethic, client engagement style and
quality of deliverables continues the excellent precedent set by their colleagues last year. The AECOM
team has understood the commercial implications of their proposals, which has been vitally important
on this project. I’ve continued to be impressed with the responsiveness demonstrated.” Chris Proctor,
BBC, 2013.
“I was very impressed by AECOM’s ability to engage with stakeholders in this work. Additionally I felt
that AECOM was very helpful in anticipating problems. Overall there was a distinctive reassuring air
about the way the work was managed.” Clive Turner/Neil Smith, NHBC Foundation, 2014.
“Both AECOM’s William Leech and Mary Livingstone provided excellent contributions to the
Performance Gap project, always delivering work on time and to a high standard. Their analytical
approach and attention to detail was crucial to the quality of the project as a whole.” Tessa
Hurstwyn/Rob Pannell, Zero Carbon Hub Secondment, 2014.
10 out of 10 from the Serpentine Gallery’s Head of Projects, Julie Burnell. Services included lighting,
fire engineering, along with structural engineering.
Our Sustainable Design Group was given 9 out of 10 rating for satisfaction with services and
deliverables in a recent client survey for their with the London Borough of Lambeth on the Brixton Low
Carbon Zone.
“Tim and Olivia were a great team to work alongside. They hit every deadline set out by the client, held
weekly meetings with the design team which helped in signing off the job and kept everyone in the
loop on a daily basis. Yet again this was an enjoyable project to work with AECOM on.” Andrew King,
Turner College
Examples of applying the advice that you provide to clients within your own business.
Our third global Sustainability Report, ‘Managing Complexity, Building Better Lives’, underscores our
strategic approach to resource efficiency and showcases some of our long-term solutions in an
increasingly complex and unpredictable world. It also presents our community partnerships with a
range of not-for-profits, including Water Aid, Engineers Without Borders and the International Red
Cross. “In 2013, beyond factoring in the impacts of greenhouse gases and climate adaptation, we
became ever more mindful that providing an ever-changing, growing urban population with clean
energy, clean water, healthy nutrition and a secure environment, as well as long-lasting, reliable
infrastructure and shelter, is the defining challenge of our time,” writes AECOM’s Chief Sustainability
Officer, Gary Lawrence. The report highlights a selection of our groundbreaking projects, including the
Masdar Siemens HQ – the first building in the United Arab Emirates to be LEED V3.0 certified, and
designed by our teams in the UK and UAE. It also showcases our Building Services team’s work on
the University of Nottingham’s BREEAM Outstanding Energy Technologies Building.
We are always looking at ways to improve the performances of our own offices. In our European HQ in
London we have taken a number of measures over the past year to improve our energy performance,
including interrogating the smart meter reading for small power, lighting, and heating and cooling. We
have reviewed this with the building’s facilities management team, and we are currently going through
a process of fine-tuning the systems particularly for out of hours. In addition, shower timers have been
added in the showers used by the entire building, encouraging staff to keep showers short and not to
waste water. We have taken other steps such as introducing battery recycling and implementing food
composting in the canteen and catering areas, as well as in the tea points.
We actively seek ideas from the staff to reveal what they think and to find out new ways of making our
office green. Following the successful roll out of our ‘Adopt a Plant’ scheme we will be looking to run a
similar initiative over the coming months. Similar schemes are happening in all of our offices across
the UK and in Europe.
Over the coming weeks, we are kicking off our new Be Green monthly all-offices campaign with a new
drive for staff to bring in their own mug to reduce wastage, and to print in black and white – or if
possible, not at all! We have also set up an internal forum on our internal network to allow staff to
receive updates on new initiatives and as a space for suggestions and ideas.
A global drive will see us working towards a significant reduction in carbon emissions across the
company. We advocate the use of new technologies, including video conferencing, to cut back on
global travel wherever possible. We measure our water and energy consumption and work with office
landlords to introduce energy saving measures including water recycling. Through our Green Office
Programme we promote recycling, raising employee awareness and encouraging new initiatives to
come through. We have local green office coordinators in each office who help to drum up new ideas
and make sure they happen. Through our new wellness campaign, Be Well, we have been promoting
the Cycle to Work scheme, amongst other initiatives centred on improving staff wellbeing and
awareness.
Further information
Please provide testimonials from clients and other partners such as contractors, and other participants in the
supply chain, in addition to any further information, evidence or references that you would like to include in your
entry.
Testimonials included in the above sections.
Supporting documents check list
All supporting documents should be collated into one PDF document for upload. Supporting evidence should
assist the judges in assessing how the entry meets the criteria. Generic marketing information is not required
DECs
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