Arup Remains on AFR's Sustainability Leaders List
Arup's ongoing commitment to innovative solutions for sustainability challenges has garnered recognition from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) for the second year in a row.
The AFR's annual list of Australia's Sustainability Leaders highlights Arup's position as a leader in the professional services, advisory, and engineering sector.
One of the key factors contributing to this recognition is Arup's innovative Sustainable Development Fund (SDF), which provides financial support to employees and teams engaged in projects that deliver tangible sustainable outcomes.
Kerryn Coker, Co-Chair of Arup's Australasia Region, emphasised how the SDF capitalises on Arup's unique employee-owned structure to drive industry leadership and impact beyond the firm's scale.
Arup's commitment to addressing climate change includes ambitious targets like achieving net-zero emissions across operations by 2030. However, the company recognises that the most significant impact lies in its projects and collaborations with clients.
Established in June 2020, the SDF aligns with Arup's commitment to contribute meaningfully to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals while creating shared value for clients and communities while safeguarding the planet.
This initiative offers every Arup employee the opportunity to apply for seed funding of up to AUD 15,000 to accelerate sustainable development outcomes on their projects. By removing barriers that hinder the adoption of innovative approaches to sustainability, the SDF has already invested $2.2 million in Australasian projects.
Participation in the SDF is open to all Arup employees, fostering project management and leadership skills while strengthening client relationships. The firm actively promotes knowledge sharing to facilitate faster adoption of new innovations across the organisation.
Several notable sustainability outcomes have been achieved through the SDF, including conducting a carbon assessment for the Haigslea/Amberley Intersection Upgrade in Queensland and developing a pathway for whole life cycle carbon reduction.
Additionally, the SDF has contributed to assessing sea level rises at David Low Way in Queensland, enhancing the capacity to anticipate and mitigate water-related shocks and stresses. Furthermore, the SDF has enabled participatory place-making and regenerative landscape architecture strategies in the Somerset Youth Masterplan development process in Singapore, empowering youth and enhancing long-term precinct stewardship.
Arup firmly believes that everyone has a role to play in addressing climate change and social inequity. By dismantling barriers to innovation and empowering employees to pursue sustainability enhancements across all projects, Arup aims to inspire widespread replication and scaling of sustainable practices within the industry.
This approach, integrated into the core of the business, has unlocked the potential to improve employee engagement, organisational performance, and innovation, shaping a more sustainable future.
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Source: Arup
