Business

RSK is routinely vaunted as one of the most innovative and environmentally progressive companies in Europe, having helped most of the major players in the energy, property, water, manufacturing, government and transport sectors complete projects in an environmentally responsible way.

Noteworthy commissions include helping George Wimpey UK maintain its environmental management standard ISO 14001 certification, project managing George Wimpey Bristol’s bid to devise the UK’s first zero carbon housing scheme and providing ecological services to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) for a pioneering showcase project to revamp a Victorian stable block into a sustainable building fit for 21^st -century use.

In recent years, RSK has positioned itself at the vanguard of progressive environmental business, becoming one of the first consultancies in the UK to establish dedicated Corporate Responsibility (later rebranded to Sustainable Solutions for the Built Environment) and Carbon Management teams to help clients conduct their business in a responsible, legally compliant manner. Through ventures like these, RSK is fast emerging as the ‘go-to company’ for projects like Code for Sustainable Homes assessments and emission reduction advice.

RSK is certified to ISO 14001 for Environmental Management. In 2006, the Achilles Verify scheme gave RSK an 82.5% rating for its environmental management system and 77% for its on-site performance.

Sponsorships

Outside of the business arena, our track record for supporting pioneering carbon emission reduction schemes is second to none. We are the main business sponsor for Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral, we donated £10K toward Chester City Council’s pioneering CRed scheme (making it the first city in the world to offer all citizens personalised guidelines for carbon emission reduction), and we were instrumental in establishing the Crichton Carbon Centre (Scotland’s first dedicated sustainable energy and carbon emissions research centre).

What’s more, RSK has sponsored the appointment of Roy Alexander as Professor of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Chester and the Romanian village of Şinca Nouă’s bid to become an eco-village.

Internal commitments

Closer to home, RSK continues to commit to its 2005 pledge of reducing energy expenditure by 10% across all offices. Currently, co-ordinated energy baseline studies are ongoing ahead of the publication of Group-wide action guidelines.

Good Energy, the UK's only energy supplier offering electricity from 100% renewable sources, currently powers eleven RSK offices, with others set to switch over following negotiations with landlords. 

Our comitment to saving energy has yielded signficant improvements. For example, simple, every-day measures has seen our Hemel Hempstead office cut its energy use by almost 20% in the past year.

As for the future, there are plans to aim for full carbon neutrality across the Group – a feat achieved by our Dordrecht, Netherlands office in 2006.

In addition to our existing recycling and energy saving commitments, we run a cycle to work scheme (which gives employees the opportunity to hire bicycles and safety equipment as a tax-free benefit) and maintain a formal green procurement plan that ensures sustainable and Fair Trade products are sourced for all of the RSK Group offices.