Sustainability at BakerHicks

At a glance

At BakerHicks, sustainability underpins how we design, deliver, and operate. As part of the Morgan Sindall Group – committed to achieving net zero across operations by 2030 and its full value chain by 2045 – we support a clear, long term strategy to minimise environmental impact and drive a low carbon future.

Sustainability, by design

Our teams work across the sectors to embed sustainability from the outset. As engineers, architects, designers and delivery specialists, we shape the environmental performance of buildings and infrastructure, using recognised standards to meet leading sustainability and wellbeing benchmarks.

CarboniCa is our whole life carbon modelling tool, delivering robust calculations validated to RICS’ Whole Life Carbon Standard (Version 2) and independently verified by Arup. It quantifies embodied and operational carbon across the full project lifecycle, drawing on trusted data sources – including Bath ICE, CAt and DESNZ Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors – with the option to upload project specific EPDs for greater accuracy.
Led by in house specialists, CarboniCa provides a clear, material by material breakdown of carbon impact, demonstrating how design decisions influence a project’s footprint. Adopted across all our sectors – from aviation and custodial environments to high voltage infrastructure and life sciences – the tool helps clients understand their carbon impact and explore credible low carbon pathways that make a difference.
Passivhaus is an internationally recognised standard for delivering exceptional energy efficiency through a robust fabric first approach. It prioritises high insulation levels, airtight construction, minimised thermal bridging, high performance glazing, and balanced mechanical ventilation with heat recovery – creating comfortable buildings that maintain stable indoor temperatures with minimal energy demand.
Our teams have supported many projects where Passivhaus principles have guided the design. We bring expertise in building physics, energy modelling, and integrated design coordination, advising on thermal performance, optimising envelope design, and ensuring building services align with high performance fabric requirements.
Sustainability at BakerHicks is a collaborative effort across all sectors, disciplines, and offices. Our multi-disciplinary teams work together to measure and reduce carbon emissions, inform responsible material and design choices, and capture the social value our projects deliver. This approach also underpins our role as a PAS 2080 certified organisation, aligning our processes with industry‑recognised best practice for managing and reducing carbon across the built environment.
By sharing knowledge, combining expertise, and applying consistent carbon management principles, we embed sustainability at every stage of design and delivery. And as proud ambassadors of Architects Declare and Engineers Declare we reinforce our commitment to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency through collective industry action.

From the team

As engineers, designers, and project procurement and delivery teams, we have a unique opportunity to harness our collective expertise, to proactively support all stakeholders and ensure that buildings achieve zero operational carbon.

Mairi Murray

Head of Sustainability

Engineers must take a hard look at our design decisions. With the tools available to measure true carbon impact, it’s on each of us to question our choices and ensure we’re proposing the lowest carbon solutions.

Alwyn Hanekom

Managing Director, Infrastructure, Government & Defence

From an architectural perspective, success comes from early decisions: setting clear client targets, optimising orientation, defining ventilation and airtightness strategies, selecting the right glazing and insulation, and designing out thermal bridging. Embedding these principles at the start makes delivery far easier.

Katherine Gibson

Associate Architect, Certified Passive House Designer

Ultimately, it’s not just about lowering operational energy, it’s about protecting the future. Mechanical engineers may not always feel influential, but our choices now shape buildings for the next 50 years.

David Coulter

Associate – Building Services, Certified Passive House Designer

We’re fortunate that many of our clients already recognise the need for change. We get to work with people who share our values and want to deliver projects the same way we do. That means my colleagues can concentrate on whole building energy use while we take on the wider sustainability picture.

Jess Moon McQueen

Principal BREEAM & Sustainability Engineer

Recognition

2025

Learning Places Scotland Awards

Project of the Year - Inclusive Design – Woodland View School

2025

Cytiva Supplier Sustainability Awards

Climate Action Award

2023

Top Company

Germany, Switzerland, Austria

BREEAM

Global standard for assessing the sustainability of buildings and infrastructure, developed by the UK’s Building Research Establishment (BRE).

DREAM

The Ministry of Defence’s environmental performance assessment tool for new build and refurbishment projects.

EcoVadis

A globally recognised rating assessing sustainability and ethics in supply chains.

NABERS

NABERS, introduced to the UK in 2020 and now run by CIBSE, rates the energy, water, waste, and indoor environmental performance of commercial buildings.

PAS 2080

A carbon management standard that cuts emissions and costs through smarter design and construction.

Passivhaus

A high performance standard delivering energy efficiency, comfort and a lower carbon footprint.

The Carbon Reduction Code

A voluntary collaboration to drive carbon reduction across the built environment.

WELL

Blending best practices in design and construction with evidence-based health and wellness interventions.

Sustainability in our operations

Reducing our footprint, improving our impact. At BakerHicks, sustainability isn’t just something we deliver for our clients – it’s integral to how we run our business.

As a Morgan Sindall Group company, we’re committed to achieving net zero, with clear targets to reduce our carbon footprint and operate responsibly across everything we do. By 2030, we aim to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 60% and our Scope 3 emissions by 42%, with an ambitious long term goal of achieving a 90% reduction across all scopes by 2045.

These come from sources we own or control directly, like company vehicles or on-site fuel combustion (such as gas boilers).
These are emissions from the electricity, heat, or steam we purchase and use. While we don’t produce them ourselves, they’re a result of our energy consumption.
These are emissions from our wider value chain – everything from business travel, commuting, and waste to the materials we buy and how our products are used or disposed of.

Operational ‘greening’

Reflecting our Group’s ethos, we’re committed to protecting and developing people, improving the environment, working closely with our supply chain, and enhancing the communities we serve. These are our Total Commitments, ensuring we measure, challenge, and continually improve our performance in the most responsible way.

By collaborating closely with facilities, procurement, and finance teams, we deliver programmes that cut carbon, improve energy efficiency, and strengthen environmental performance across all our operations. Sustainability leads champion responsible behaviours at every level, driving local engagement and meaningful change every day.

Lakenheath Fen

Rewetting arable farmland at Lakenheath Fen RSPB Reserve.

Sustainability at BakerHicks.