Transforming Architecture, Engineering and Consulting: Your Guide to Embedding Sustainability

The age of performative sustainability is over. To stay relevant and competitive, architecture, engineering and consulting firms must drive meaningful change underpinned by clearly defined environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives.

This is by no means hyperbole. In our 5th Annual Deltek Clarity UK and ANZ Industry Study, we learned that 86% of the architecture, engineering and consulting firms we surveyed have implemented tools and activities to support ESG initiatives. This shows a huge commitment to the ESG proposition, which is becoming an inextricable part of how firms do business. However, only 40% have a clear and agreed-upon strategy for executing these initiatives, while 69% are concerned they'll be unable to achieve their ESG goals by planned deadlines.

So, how can firms transform their ESG aspirations into actionable strategies and meaningful results? Neil Davidson, Group Vice President at Deltek, unpacks the meteoric rise of the ESG proposition that is driving firms to embrace sustainability. He also explains how you can comply with increasingly complex legislation while enhancing business performance and operational efficiency.

The Net-Zero Deadline Creeps Ever Closer

Clients are often seen as the most vocal advocates for sustainable business practices. While they are indeed more selective about where they spend their money, companies can actually face more pressure from investors, governments and employees to balance sustainability with efficiency.

92% of infrastructure investors in the UK say ESG performance is instrumental for a clear long-term value creation strategy. When we consider what's at stake, it's easy to see why investors are taking extra care to build greener portfolios.

To keep global warming below 2°C, as the Paris Agreement requires, every building on Earth must be net zero by 2050. To have a fighting chance of achieving this, the International Energy Agency (IEA) calls for all new and retrofitted buildings to be at zero-carbon-ready levels by 2030. It's a tall ask when buildings account for 30% of global energy consumption and 26% of global energy-related emissions.

As new regulations, such as the EU's, come into play, firms will need tools and processes in place to show they're taking action, not just talking about it.

Net Zero Is an Opportunity – Not a Threat

With so many incoming regulations around sustainability, it's easy to see net zero as a challenge instead of an opportunity for positive change. However, leaders can recontextualize net zero as a business imperative and competitive opportunity that will, in fact, generate support for them.

Prioritizing sustainability will help to:

• Diversify revenue with value-added services that let clients track their building's carbon emissions, benchmark energy use and optimize heating and cooling
• Mitigate legal challenges and futureproof builds by using sustainable materials that are stronger, more energy-efficient and comply with emerging regulations
• Save money for clients by building green sites and facilities to increase asset value and occupancy rates and reduce total operating costs by up to 19%
• Create jobs and attract top talent by prioritizing initiatives that match their beliefs and take advantage of emerging green skills like climate action planning
• Ensure eligibility for state-allocated ESG funds, such as the UK government's grant incentives.

These are just a few of the opportunities that arise from transitioning to a more sustainable business model. And, to fully capitalize on the net zero opportunity, firms may need to consider upgrading their digital toolkit.

Digitalization for Value-Adding Sustainability

The smartest architecture and engineering firms are empowering their teams and clients with the end-to-end project visibility and intelligent automation tools they need to create sustainable project plans and encourage smarter, more collaborative decision-making.

The following are some of the technologies that can help deliver more sustainable projects while enhancing operational efficiency:

• Generative AI can automatically generate sustainable site plans, including project scheduling and resource allocations
• Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools can proactively model and estimate a physical building's performance and carbon footprint in a virtual 3D space ahead of construction
• Internet of Things (IoT) devices let you proactively monitor and manage energy consumption and make more informed, greener decisions.

Consultancies are increasingly recommending these technologies to help their clients make greener decisions and take responsibility for the impact their projects have on the environment. This also helps consultants bolster their competitive reputation by delivering innovative and highly collaborative projects that create social value.

However, to truly master these use cases, comprehensive and accurate reporting is a must.

Master ESG Reporting to Measure and Optimize Your Sustainable Projects

Accurate reporting tools are increasingly vital to meeting a firm's ESG goals, not only to comply with regulatory requirements – such as the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) – but to proactively measure and optimize business practices.

For example, tracking clearly defined KPIs and metrics can help everyone rally around a shared vision of ESG success while encouraging a more productive and accountable culture. For consultants, clear KPIs combined with a centralized reporting solution offer an ideal opportunity to support their clients in adopting technology and increasing efficiency, helping them meet their ESG goals.

While plenty of technologies support ESG efforts, firms need to ensure they have a solid back-office foundation of their own before they can consider using more advanced technologies.

A cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution enables firms to manage the complete project lifecycle from a single, collaborative dashboard. This includes flexible process automation, smart resource management, and the accurate business intelligence and reporting tools needed to measure and optimize sustainable project delivery.

Turn Sustainability into a Catalyst for Success with Deltek

Strong ESG propositions are creating tremendous opportunities for firms to explore new markets, experience investment optimization and attract top talent due to their social credibility. And whilst these are just snapshots of the opportunities available when embracing ESG-driven transformations, working with a partner like Deltek can be the difference maker. Please get in touch to discuss your sustainability challenges or to learn more about Deltek ERP for architecture, engineering and consulting firms.