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08 — Sustainability

Sustainability & Carbon Reduction

Low-carbon structural design, reuse studies and strategies to minimise embodied carbon — supporting clients’ own carbon-reduction targets and reporting requirements.

What this covers

Structural decisions carry some of the largest embodied-carbon consequences in a building project — the choice of material, the amount of new structure required, and above all, whether an existing building is retained at all.

Embodied carbon assessment

Quantified comparison of structural options, giving clients an evidenced basis for material and retention decisions.

Retention & reuse studies

Structural feasibility studies testing whether an existing building can be retained rather than demolished.

Low-carbon material selection

Structural design using lower-carbon materials and reduced material quantities, without compromising performance.

Client reporting support

Structural evidence and options appraisal to support clients’ own carbon-reduction targets and reporting requirements.

Retention as the starting assumption

We start every sustainability-led commission from the assumption that retaining and adapting an existing structure is the lower-carbon option, and test that assumption with quantified evidence rather than treating it as a given. Where new structure genuinely is the right answer, we look for ways to reduce its material quantity and carbon intensity.

This work sits closely alongside our existing buildings and heritage engineering, since retention-first thinking is common to both — conservation and carbon reduction are, in most cases, pointing in the same direction rather than competing objectives.

Local coverage

Low-carbon structural engineering across London & Kent

In London, sustainability work is often about proving the retrofit case for retained stock on constrained urban sites; in Kent, it more often means weighing retention against replacement for larger, older buildings with a bigger embodied-carbon footprint to consider. We provide embodied-carbon and sustainability-focused structural engineering from our offices in London and Kent, serving projects across the UK and internationally. Many of our clients — from local authorities and housing associations to private developers, landowners and commercial estates — have their own carbon-reduction targets and reporting requirements, and we work alongside these objectives, providing the structural evidence needed to make informed, defensible decisions about repair versus replacement.

Frequently asked questions

Is retaining an existing building always the lower-carbon choice?

Very often, but not automatically — it depends on the building's condition and the scale of intervention a retention strategy would need. We test this with a quantified embodied-carbon assessment rather than assuming the answer.

Can you support our organisation's carbon-reduction reporting?

Yes — we regularly provide the structural evidence and options appraisal that public-sector and corporate clients need to support their own carbon-reduction targets and reporting requirements.

Does a low-carbon approach cost more?

Not necessarily. Reduced material quantities and retained structure can lower both embodied carbon and construction cost together, though the balance depends on the specifics of each project.

Discuss your carbon-reduction objectives.

Discuss a project