Sustainability Award

1st - Carillion Building
Carillion was wise enough to delegate its sustainability strategy and target setting to an expert: environmentalist Jonathon Porritt. The firm also made sure that 84% of its independently audited targets were achieved last year. Carillion has an in-house training scheme, but is also a member of The Natural Step programme, and all of its board directors have taken TNS courses. Two projects in which this training shows are the new halls of residence for the University of Hertfordshire – which use 60% less energy than typical residences, at no extra cost – and the Great Western Hospital, on which Carillion reduced landfill waste by 50%. Within the company, a Green Transport Plan has led to a 9900-tonne reduction in CO₂ emissions, and the aim is to reduce these another 20% this year.

'Its strategy was felt to be very robust, and it had filtered through the whole of the organisation effectively'

2nd - Countryside Properties
This developer takes sustainability very seriously, as can be seen from the lean design and waste-cutting construction employed on projects such as its Greenwich Millennium Village. Residential and commercial developments are being measured against BREEAM and EcoHomes standards. The firm also tackles environmental issues closer to home, using electricity from renewable sources in 90% of its offices and a CO₂ reduction strategy for its car fleet.

'A good overall strategy, and its case study, the Greenwich Millennium housing scheme, had been a test-bed for many of its green ideals'

3rd - Arup Associates
Arup believes in a sustainable business model. It has attempted to reduce carbon, water and resource consumption and only uses sustainably sourced paper. It also aims to cut carbon intake 30% over the next two years. Arup is active in a number of forums, including the Green Issues Committee of the British Council for Offices. What's more, its Druk White Lotus School in India, which you can see in the construction consultant category, is a model of sustainable design and won a host of awards last year.

'Its Commonwealth Games stadium in Manchester was seen as an exemplar of sustainability best practice'

4th - Taylor Woodrow
The winner of our Major Contractor award has developed an environmental management system that includes minimising waste and energy consumption. It has researched the use of off-site and modular construction, used to great effect on the Greenwich Millennium Village development in London. Taywood also sends out newsletters to local stakeholders to encourage communication on community issues such as traffic, noise, dust and vibration.

5th - Feilden Clegg Bradley
Feilden Clegg Bradley, the Architectural Practice of the Year, follows a range of environmental principles, from only using recycled paper to donating upgraded furniture to local schools. The firm's Oxstalls complex at the University of Gloucestershire is an example of its sustainability methods in practice. The complex is built on a brownfield site, the library is largely naturally lit and the sports hall's south-facing roof will be clad in photovoltaic cells.

6th - Mace
Mace has teamed up with BAA and operators Wilson James to create a consolidation centre at Heathrow airport, in a move to streamline the £8bn development of Terminal 5. The centre combines materials into work packs before distribution, making a significant contribution to sustainable development by reducing CO₂ emissions, pruning vehicle movements and cutting waste. It has already yielded a 42% drop in emissions from local deliveries.