Environmental concerns continue to move up the corporate agenda. Ever-increasing public awareness of environmental issues, better lobbying by pressure groups and stricter enforcement by environmental regulators means the onus is on business to put more time and resources into managing its environmental impacts.

Climate Change
Mott MacDonald’s breadth of skills, sectors, services and global reach, and our understanding of the natural environment make us one of the world’s top players in responding to the challenges posed by climate change. From understanding and planning for the long-term impacts on water resources to providing emissions credits for project financing, we deliver integrated solutions.

We have the skills to appraise and deliver solutions in agriculture and rural development, biodiversity and conservation, coastal zones, flood defence and land drainage, human health and social development, landscape, water resources planning, carbon credit project finances, energy efficient buildings and natural disaster protection.

Natural Heritage
The acceleration of development across our world leads us increasingly to value our natural environment and recognise the pressures we subject it to. Mott MacDonald strongly believes that conserving the environment and its resources should be based on a thorough understanding of its individual aspects and how they interact. We employ specialist teams of freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecologists, landscape architects and experts in water, soil and air quality to help identify the threats to the sustainability our environment.

People and Development
Major projects are appraised in terms of their financial costs, the benefits they are designed to achieve and their environmental impacts. Their social impacts are often difficult to measure and sometimes receive less attention. At Mott MacDonald, we believe that the social dimension requires the same level of concern as the physical project design and should be recognised from the outset.

Whether the project in hand is an urban brownfield development or an irrigation initiative, our experts in public consultation, social development and socio-economics help you identify and communicate with stakeholders and provide practical solutions that meet their needs and provide benefits at both the corporate and project levels.

Planning and Development
In all developments, the interface between planning and environmental issues is a critical factor. Promoters of new developments need to assess their environmental impact – on soil, water and protected animal and plant species and their habitats. Increasingly these proposed developments take place on brown-field sites bringing with them their own issues of land and groundwater contamination and the removal of invasive species.

Sustainability
Sustainability is no longer just the domain of green organisations and activists. Businesses in today’s world are increasingly required to respond to stakeholders at all levels on the sustainability of their operations, from corporate decisions to activities at the coal face. It’s on the agendas of policy and decision makers and planners and investors. Companies feel its impact in supply chains, and publicity can make or break corporate reputations.

Mott MacDonald supports its corporate clients at all levels. We guide the development of environmental and sustainability policy, we provide tools for the implementation of practical environmental management systems and we deliver engineering services that reduce the impacts of operations on water, soil and the atmosphere.

Legislation
International legislation such as the EU’s directives on waste, water and ecosystems, together with national legislation, governs the way environmental regulators, utilities and businesses operate in terms of environmental safety, control and protection. Mott MacDonald has amassed vast experience in assessing compliance with the frameworks, and our close links with environmental lawyers means we can provide all the policy advice you need.

Risk and Liability
All investments bring risks, and environmental risks and liabilities, such as weak pollution control, infrastructure or historic contamination, have grown rapidly in recent decades. Mott MacDonald’s strengths in its main business sectors – including water, energy, buildings and transportation – give it the specialist knowledge to assess the actual risks and potential liabilities that arise when investing in these sectors.

We have been called on to conduct environmental due diligence of major investment opportunities, such as power distribution networks, water and wastewater companies and power generators. The same expertise in both environmental and engineering sectors means that we have been appointed as lenders’ environmental advisor for such major international projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

Environment - Specific Skills and Services

• Catchment area management
• Environmental impact assessment
• Environmental and social impact assessment (for lenders)
• Auditing and risk assessment
• Environmental management systems
• Environmental planning of sustainable development
• Environmental education
• Strengthening environmental institutions
• Climate change
• Natural and water resource management
• Trans-boundary river management
• Irrigation and water user associations
• Baseline survey
• Brown-field development and green building design
• Conservation/protected area management
• Eco-tourism
• Environmental monitoring
• Environmental policy development
• Sustainable development planning
• Urban regeneration
• Waste management and minimisation