We are delighted to have been shortlisted within two categories at the BEN Tomorrow’s Procurement Awards.

Innovative Procurement Project of the Year

Our Innovative Procurement Project of the Year shortlisting is for a new logistics campus totalling close to a million square feet for Baytree Logistics Properties in Nuneaton. The superstructure of the new 30,000sqft headquarters office element is constructed entirely from CLT and Glulam, making this one of the largest timber buildings currently being constructed in the UK.

We hope this example of procurement of timber is embraced more by the Logistics sector going forward, setting a precedent towards reducing the sector’s carbon emissions.

Both Baytree and future occupier Rhenus Logistics understood the benefits of utilising our proposal of a timber frame for the office building from the outset. With considerable carbon savings and sustainability and wellbeing benefits identified, the use of the material where feasible was prioritised by the project team throughout the design process.

We have been working with Baytree Logistics Properties for several years to drive innovative sustainability, social value and future thinking in all their projects. The full scheme is due to be completed in summer 2023.

Net Zero Champion of the Year

Our second shortlisting is for Net Zero Champion of the Year. Philippa Birch-Wood, head of our sustainability team Thrive, is an architect and environmentalist who aims to reduce the negative impact of the construction sector as much as possible. She communicates the importance of thinking about sustainability in a holistic way, considering not just carbon but water, resource use, health and wellbeing, resilience, biodiversity and social value.

As head of Thrive Philippa guides clients towards Net Zero in line with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings framework definition. She not only acts on construction projects but also helps clients to shape development strategy to deliver long-term change.

Her expertise is shared throughout the wider construction industry through panels and talks. She has led several R&D initiatives into the use of sustainable materials in construction. This includes collaborating with NBS Source to help implement additional sustainability related filters in their manufacturer product platform, which is an invaluable resource for architects and design teams when specifying materials.

Her team have been sharing their knowledge of building materials by rolling out hands-on Material Matters Workshops which focus on embodied carbon but also consider health, wellbeing and circularity.

Philippa’s recent articles include how architects can design to save water to mark World Water Week and, during COP27, how to address barriers to reducing carbon in construction.

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