Ward Williams Associates secures UK’s most prestigious business title
Ward Williams Associates (WWA) - one of the UK’s largest regional property and construction consultancies - has been awarded a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its outstanding achievements in Sustainable Development.
The coveted honour sees WWA named as one of only a handful of Sustainable Development winner in the construction sector, cementing the consultancy’s position as an industry trailblazer for People, Places and Planet.
Making the achievement even more impressive, just 17 organisations were recognised for Sustainable Development nationally last year out of 205 recipients overall, making it the most exclusive of the four Queen’s Award for Enterprise categories. 226 organisations will be honoured in 2022 across all categories.
WWA has a 45+ year track record in the construction sector across the full breadth of the built and natural environment providing project management, quantity surveying, and building surveying services to clients in both the public and private sectors. The consultancy which has a team of 115 people and 7 offices across the UK, is no stranger to leading the way. In 2020 WWA became the first Chartered Surveyors in the world to become B Corporation® Certified and in 2021 the consultancy was awarded Best For The World – Workers. This places WWA in the top 5% of global B Corps for how they develop and care for their people.
WWA’s ongoing sustainability focus will include the progression of bespoke project management and quantity surveying services that target the positive de-carbonisation of the built environment. WWA aim to support their clients and work with design professionals to understand the carbon impacts, costs in use, and how, where appropriate, the re-use, re-purposing and regeneration of existing buildings and infrastructure should be prioritised over building new.
Working to support and protect the communities and environment continues to be a strong motivation for the business. In 2021, WWA launched its “1% for our communities” initiative, donating pro-bono time, volunteering hours and direct financial support to assist community, charity or environmental projects in the areas where it operates. This support is the equivalent value of a minimum of 1% of the business’ turnover in any given financial year.
The professional and personal development of its team, and the creation of opportunity for careers in the built environment is an intrinsic part of the WWA philosophy for growth. WWA Futures is the latest initiative for the business, with a recruitment to retirement advancement programme for every member of the team which is tailored to individual need.
WWA’s landmark projects also contributed to the Queen’s Award for Enterprise recognition. These include The Wave in Bristol, the regeneration and transformation of The Box museum and gallery in Plymouth, affordable housing for local people at 300 Harrow Road, Westminster and the first major translocation of seagrass in the UK for Pendennis Shipyard.
WWA Senior Partner, Andy Snapes, comments: “Receiving this accolade is an incredible honour. It is the highest possible recognition of our team’s commitment to being a responsible business and celebrates the passion that is so intrinsic to our culture.
“We believe in using ‘business as a force for good’ and in considering the impact of our decisions on the wellbeing of our staff, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. We are proud to be a catalyst for real and lasting change in our industry.”
