Our Sustainability Journey
Tom Wildbore, Head of Sustainability
18 March 2025
It was November 2021 when we began setting in motion a range of sustainability initiatives, starting with the creation of a new ‘Head of Sustainability’ role — to be filled by a certified Passivhaus Designer. And all the plans we developed had one thing in common: sharing.
The way we see it, a sustainable initiative is only truly sustainable if it’s adopted widely enough. Hence, we’ve made sure our team, our clients, and the industry are beneficiaries of our environmental commitment. By the middle of 2024, all our initial plans had been successfully introduced and — in some cases — we’ve exceeded even our own expectations.
‘CSET’ sustainability tool
Our proudest achievement has been the development and launch of our own comprehensive project sustainability design tool, termed the ‘CSET’ or Client Sustainability Engagement Tool.
We recognised the demand for an architect-led sustainability consultancy service. In 2024 we offered this service on two pilot projects and, following very positive results, we are now looking to scale up — using this service on more projects.
The architectural industry cannot begin to evolve on the sustainability front until businesses can easily deploy and use tools like the CSET. What we have done, we hope, will facilitate accelerated improvements across architecture.
Passivhaus consultancy and data-driven design
Buildings and construction are responsible for over 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions. Our recently-introduced Passivhaus consultancy service ensures projects benefit from design processes proven to deliver operational carbon savings.
With construction costs soaring, our clients often struggle to justify sustainable design enhancements without seeing performance data in support. Recognising this, we have invested in upskilling our team to enable the use of a wider range of data-driven design techniques to back-up our sustainable design decisions on projects.
This is supported by a wide-ranging climate literacy programme to bring our whole team’s knowledge to a higher level to improve everyday sustainability advice and decision making.
Business operations
We feel a responsibility to set an example, practicing what we preach to clients. We have just received ISO 14001 certification which recognises the ambitious environmental policy and development targets we have implemented.
Our carbon emissions have fallen year-on-year since 2022, with further reductions projected for 2025.
Staff, career development and health and wellbeing
One of the indirect, but still salient, improvements seen from our commitment to sustainable practice has been staff retention and satisfaction. Our staff can see the right, moral decision-making processes, aligning with their own values as architects and people.
A lot of this comes down to knowledge sharing. Our primary focus with knowledge sharing is where it directly improves the sustainable outcomes of our projects. This always starts with our team.
Our training and climate literacy programme is also focussed on developing staff skills and expertise, directly reinvesting in our team. And while we’re ultimately pleased with this, it is an area we think can still see improvement going forward.
Designed to last
We know there’s always more to be done. That’s why our intelligent initiatives were designed with a long-term view, knowing that we have yet to reap the full rewards, and that is what sustainability is all about.
Here at Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt, we prioritise what’s best for the industry, not just us. We believe in sharing knowledge; in long-term actions, not quick-fix measures.