Today we announce the appointment of Cressida Curtis as our new Group Sustainability Director. She will join in the new year and sit on the Group’s Executive Committee, reporting to Chief Executive, Eoghan O’Lionaird

We’ve further cemented our presence as a leader in social housing retrofit having secured £107m of Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2.1 contracts on behalf of 17 social landlords.

In 2023 we completed a refurbishment project at Ada, the National College for Digital Skills, on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE), transforming a former secondary school into a pioneering digital campus in time for the 2023/24 academic year.

Today we are proud to announce that the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has approved our long-term science-based emissions reduction targets.

In this blog, Phil Allan, MEP Project Manager, outlines how he navigated the complex electrical works at Lucent – Wates’ landmark project for Landsec – explaining the careful co-ordination and meticulous planning that went into the changeover of the Lights. 

In his first major profile interview since becoming Chief Executive, Eoghan O’Lionaird talks to Colin Marrs, Editor of Construction News, about his approach to leadership, and the top issues in his in-tray.

In this blog, Peter Jones, Wates Senior Sustainability and Environmental Advisor, shares how, together with client Landsec, Wates has delivered a sustainable workplace with an impressive biodiversity net gain and embodied carbon reduction at the flagship building project behind the lights at Piccadilly Circus:  Lucent.

The Government’s recent steps back on green policies are a cause for concern in successfully decarbonising the UK’s homes.

Our work for The Guinness Partnership (Guinness) saw us complete part-house retrofits to 52 homes in Crewe as part of the BEIS Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Demonstrator project. Our role in leading the retrofit project was to catalyse innovation and develop best practice to inform Guinness’ future social housing retrofit projects.

We’re speeding ahead with plans to decarbonise its commercial van fleet with a major investment to replace 45 small diesel, supervisor vans with new electric cars.

A first for Wrexham County Borough Council, this pilot scheme was delivered by our Retrofit team, alongside partners Energy Specifics and Construction Thinking, to transform an inefficient void property into a pioneering zero-carbon home.

While the headlines from Michael Gove’s housing speech on 23 July may have focused mainly on a renewed commitment to building one million new homes by 2024 and for more homes to be built in city centres the Government also announced new measures for permitted development relaxing previous restrictions around changing buildings like shops and offices into homes

We’re proud to have been chosen by Lloyds Bank Corporate and Institutional business to feature in their ‘Sustainability Voices’ campaign, which profiles examples of best practice in ESG among their clients and partners.

We‘re marking the completion of its 3,000th social housing retrofit property by launching a campaign to find innovative and sustainable technology products to help customers meet net zero carbon targets.

We have recently concluded our joint competition with Lloyds Banking Group to identify the next generation of sustainability innovations that will support Lloyds Banking Group in achieving its’ operational climate pledges.

As we mark World FM Day and this year’s theme of ‘Making a real difference’, our FM Managing Director, Antony Collett, reflects on how Wates is focusing on providing the most sustainable services to customers.

Our environmental sustainability plan helps us focus on short-term targets whilst keeping an eye on long-term goals.

Our facilities management service has been named Best Sustainability Supplier of the Year by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).