Sustainability

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Sustainability

Targets for Embodied Carbon Reduction

We don’t pay lip service to sustainability. We know we can’t afford to – no individual or business can. This is why we work so hard to not only make positive changes ourselves, but also to lead and collaborate with others to maximise our impact. By measuring both our project and business emissions to accurately assess our carbon impact and through meticulous analysis and reporting, we have set realistic and achievable targets for reduction.

Our commitment is to decrease the average embodied carbon in our projects from 340kgCO2e/m2 to 295kgCO2e/m2 by 2030.

By actively working towards these goals, we strive to make a positive impact on the environment and create a more sustainable future for all.

View our Carbon Impact Report

Our Sustainable Approach

We take a proactive approach to measuring and analysing the embodied carbon in our projects.

Through the use of our specialised toolkit and bespoke integration with REVIT models, we calculate the carbon content in our principal construction materials. This data is visually presented to our clients, highlighting carbon hotspots within our structures. Such insights enable our engineers to make informed decisions and focus their efforts on reducing the carbon in our buildings and minimising their environmental impact.

Our commitment to sustainability has yielded significant milestones. Since 2019, we have amassed project data in our bespoke carbon database, allowing us to set embodied carbon targets for future projects based on comprehensive analysis. These targets are tailored according to building type and sector, serving as a guide for achieving even lower carbon impact.

We also extend our sustainability efforts beyond structures and assess the carbon footprint of civil engineering elements and integrate our expertise with Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) designs.

By combining embodied and operational carbon data, we facilitate informed discussions with our clients, providing quantified insights for evaluating whether to retain or demolish existing buildings during redevelopment planning. We are actively building a better future for all.

Our Culture

We ensure our people are aligned with our approach to sustainability and are equipped with the understanding of their professional responsibilities towards climate change. 100% of our graduates complete a ‘Sustainability in Construction’ module as part of the Curtins Academy programme. This commitment is equivalent to 100 hours a year in graduate development within sustainability.

In addition, we deliver quarterly CPDs on areas of sustainability in construction for all staff, setting out trends in industry themes and our Carbon Database results, which equates to around 1,500 hours of training.

Through training, communications and the work of our Sustainability Coordinator, sustainable practices have become embedded in our culture. Using our charity day of leave, which is available to all colleagues, our people have run litter picks, organised charity clothes donations and helped in local community gardens, with the aim of having a positive personal impact on our communities, and they have our support in its entirety.

Public Procurement Note (PPN 06/21)

Click here to read Curtins’ Baseline Report to PPN 06/21 Compliance. Within this report, we have identified the base line of operational emissions for Curtins, which has informed our goal of setting clear, realistic, and achievable reduction targets.

PPN Verification

Our Carbon Reduction Plan to achieve Net Zero by 2050, as detailed in our Baseline Report, has been verified by Enistic Ltd. Our verification letter is available to view here.