Vicki Walsh

Head of Sustainability, Wates Construction

Vicki is responsible for Sustainability within our Construction and SES businesses.

With over 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Vicki has worked nationally from a contractor, manufacturing and engineering services perspective in energy, nuclear, commercial and infrastucture sectors. Vicki started her career as a Civil Engineer with Bachy Soletanche on the Jubilee Line Extension, where she began to grow her contracting knowledge with a specialist focus in geotechnical engineering.

This then led her into an estimating role with Sir Robert McAlpine focused on major civil engineering projects. During this period Vicki had the opportunity to work across the full contractor journey on the Millennium Footbridge in London, which was pivotal in changing the direction of her career to focus on the environmental impact of the built environment. Vicki went on to provide strategic direction for Environmental, Social Impact and Quality functions, working on high-profile projects across the UK, including the Olympic Stadium in London and the Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. Responsible for the development and delivery of the inaugural company Sustainability Strategy, an active member of the CSR Committee delivering external annual CSR reports and roadshows across the business.

Vicki has spent 23 years providing strategic leadership on the integration of sustainability, environmental and social impact issues within organisations and across industry. Focussed on taking action to deliver responsible, efficient solutions that minimise the impact on the environment and the communities we work and live in. Delivering engagement across the supply chain as a founding partner of the Supply Chain Sustainability School and a member of the editorial panel of the CIP Environmental Manual.

Vicki joined Wates Construction Group to provide the strategic direction for Sustainability in the Construction and SES businesses and is a core member of the Technical Excellence Leadership Team bringing together the technical experts from across the business to deliver solutions for net zero buildings