Our response to the UK Government’s planned 68% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030

In the coming decade, the world must step up action to address the crises of climate, biodiversity and equity. 

Buro Happold must step up.

The world is waking up. Governments, cities, investors, businesses and the public are all declaring the need for urgent change. Institutions are undergoing a fundamental reappraisal of risk, asset value and investment in the context of an over-heating and more volatile world. As well as responding to growing pressure to invest in new technologies, to decarbonise economies, and to ensure developments deliver real social value for communities. 

As we look ahead to the COP26 climate summit, it is clear that the coming months and years will be pivotal in determining the course of the next 30 years and beyond. For ourselves and all the families and businesses that we rely on and the planet that sustains us. 

Sustainability leadership 

• In 2019 and 2020, Buro Happold joined with others in making public statements declaring a commitment to tackling the climate and biodiversity breakdown and addressing inequality. We have set out our ambitions to lead the change across areas relevant to our clients ranging from net zero carbon, climate resilience and circular economy through to health, wellbeing, social value.
• We have set a clear vision that ensures long-term prosperity whilst reducing our environmental footprint and ultimately delivering net positive social and environmental good. This means developing our skills and the services we provide to our clients to help assure their own future prosperity in a flourishing world.  
• We intend to work tirelessly to drive the paradigm shift that is needed to develop a regenerative model where development aligns with the rebuilding of a more natural world to secure prosperity for future generations. We need a clear decarbonisation roadmap for every sector of the economy connected to ambitious government policy and international agreements.
• We are playing our part by lending our business voice in support of industry leadership groups in the UK such as The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group, the Aldersgate Group and UK Green Building Council. Including calling for the UK Government to deliver a strong Paris Agreement pledge and urge businesses to join the campaign — Corporate Leaders Groups.
• We welcome the UK Prime Minister’s announcement that the UK will set its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to at least a 68% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This announcement is among the most ambitious in the world and commits the UK to cut emissions at the fastest rate of any major economy thus far. The government now needs to develop a comprehensive and joined-up net zero strategy which builds on the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan and through a combination of domestic policy and international agreement at COP26, develop a strategy for all sectors. 
• We are in no doubt that this is a huge and complex challenge requiring collaboration from across our entire sector and society at large. Based on the lesson learned in the past year, we have confidence in the passion of our people, our clients and our collaborators – change is happening and will continue.

What Buro Happold is going to do

• Our upcoming 2020 Global Sustainability Report will set out the progress we are making in meeting the targets we have set and the impact we are having through some example projects. In the interim, you can find some of our achievements during 2020 in the panel below.
• We will work towards our objective to be a 1.5C aligned business. This means gathering data on our project footprint, setting science-based targets, measuring and disclosing progress, reviewing regularly and taking action as part of our business processes, as well as continuing to contribute to the system change required through informing policy, co-producing industrial standards and investing in technical innovation.