About

Strategic sustainability adviser helping organisations shape, govern and deliver credible social, environmental and climate outcomes realising long-term value.

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Paul chairing a supply-chain conference for a major construction company.

Expert sustainability leadership

For the last 30 years Paul has been a leader in environmental sustainability supporting businesses navigating regulation, risk and opportunities to deliver positive outcomes for all.

Paul has held a number of significant executive roles in the built environment sector providing strategic advice to boards as well as delivering on global building and infrastructure projects.

Sustainability as a source of innovation and opportunity

Working inside major construction, infrastructure and design organisations taught Paul what external advisers rarely see: how sustainability competes with commercial pressures, delivery risk, design ambition and client expectations. Sitting on Executive Leadership Teams at Balfour Beatty, WSP, Bovis Lendlease and later leading sustainability at Grimshaw showed Paul how decisions are really made, what boards fear, and where sustainability must fight for investment, data reporting, governance and long-term commitment.

At Bovis Lend Lease he devised and embedded an award-wining target-driven strategy that transformed carbon emissions, waste management and responsible sourcing. At WSP, Paul built a global sustainability network and created a new revenue-generating service operating at the city level . At Balfour Beatty, Paul strengthened governance, unified reporting across a £3.5bn division and delivered a social value programme central to work-winning. At Grimshaw Paul set the practice’s first sustainability strategy, delivered net-zero design pathways and created the award-winning Minoro platform.

What Paul has carried carried forward throughout his corporate career is a deep understanding of how to make sustainability stick: align it with value, build coalitions and turn risk into strategic opportunity: it is a source of innovation and value creation.

Testimonials

London Sustainable Develop Commissioner for the Greater London Authority

Paul was an invaluable member of the London Sustainable Development Commission (now the London Climate & Sustainability Commission) leading various work streams and sitting on our executive committee. Amongst many important contributions, Paul in particular led our work to perform a comprehensive and deep assessment of a London’s performance in relation to the SDGs – the first for any global city at the time. He has a very impressive and wide range of expertise, from sustainability in the built environment to biodiversity and adaptation.

Dr Ashok Sinha, Chair of London Climate & Sustainability Commission

British Aviation Group (BAG)

Paul made a massive contribution to the Board, and his leadership of the Environment Working Group has been insightful and helped BAG to understand the sustainability challenges in aviation and what lies ahead. Paul always looked to ensure that we brought a balanced approach to how BAG operates and helped us see things from different perspectives, which has been invaluable. Paul’s input into developing our strategic relationships and understanding the needs of our members, with events on PAS 2080 and climate resilience, has helped us improve our governance, support our existing members and grow our membership. 

Tim Walder, Chair of the British Aviation Group

Redmond Group Limited

During Paul’s time as Non-executive Director at Redmond Group Limited, Paul made a genuinely valuable contribution to our business. As a family-run MEP contractor — having independent scrutiny at board level was important to us. Paul brought exactly that: thoughtful, objective governance on our ESG performance that helped raise our standards and hold us accountable.
Beyond governance, Paul worked closely with myself (MD) and the Health, Safety and Environment Director to drive operational excellence across the group. His input on areas such as procurement policy and site waste management and the environmental as well as social and community engagement was both practical and impactful — something that local and central government bought into, the kind of contribution that makes a real difference on complex, high-value projects.

We would have no hesitation in recommending Paul to any organisation looking for an experienced and engaged non-executive director.

Stephen Redmond, Managing Director

London Borough of Bexley

A big thank you for your help in hosting our Place and Making Institute information event at City Hall and for all the work you put into making the event run as smoothly as it did. It was a brilliant morning, with huge levels of enthusiasm and energy in the room, and we’ve received fantastic feedback following the event. Your enthusiasm and expertise was very much valued and helped to make the event so successful.

John Ferry, (Former) Head of Services

Executive Roles - Paul's career history

Overview:

Established Grimshaw’s first sustainability strategy, setting pathways for net-zero carbon design by 2025 and socially regenerative design by 2030. By the end of 2025, nearly 70% of all Grimshaw projects had adopted the net-zero carbon ready design commiment.

Led the development of the award winning minoro.org carbon management platform.

Recognised in 2026 as one of the UK’s 100 sustanability leaders.

Leadership & Responsibilities

Represented Grimshaw at global fora and into government through various appointments.

Lead an international sustainability department working across all design operations and corporate functions.

Responsible for GHG reporting, SBTi alignment, carbon management, ISO 1400/EMS oversight and PAS 2080 self-validation.

Major Achievements

Led sustainability strategies for Teeside International Airport, Luton Rising, and Alat Airport (Azerbaijan).

Advised on the urban regeneration of Baku White City and its climate action, presented this work at UN COP29.

Supported bids and delivered major international projects across Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe, Middle East and the USA, building a strong global network.

Overview
Led sustainability for Balfour Beatty’s UK construction and infrastructure division, covering rail, highways, water, aviation and building construction (including housebuilding).
Responsible for driving sustainability performance across all UK business units and major project portfolios.

Key Responsibilities

  • Project delivery & performance: Oversight of sustainability outcomes across all major projects.
  • Customer & stakeholder engagement: Built strong client relationships and managed external stakeholders.
  • Work winning: Provided sustainability leadership and bid support for major tenders.
  • Measurement & reporting: Led performance tracking and reporting across the division.
  • Supply chain engagement: Worked with suppliers to improve sustainability standards and delivery.
  • Training & culture: Designed and delivered staff engagement and capability‑building programmes.
  • UK‑wide remit: Worked across all regional businesses to embed consistent sustainability practices.

Group‑Level Leadership

  • Advised the Group Board on sustainability strategy and corporate priorities.
  • Managed corporate reporting on environment and communities.
  • Reported directly to the CEO and the Executive Board’s Safety & Sustainability Committee.
  • Represented Balfour Beatty on government working groups and industry fora.
  • Served as Administrator and Trustee of the Balfour Beatty Charitable Trust.

Major Achievements

Designed and led the UK‑wide community investment programme – Involved – delivering measurable social value through:

  • Local employment and skills
  • SME support and local spend
  • Community engagement, mentoring and fundraising
  • Considerate Constructors Scheme performance

Strengthened public sector procurement success, contributing to major wins including the £2bn Scape framework.

Managed a 32‑person team with a £3.5m budget, working across investment, rail, utilities, facilities management and public realm businesses.

Delivered £500k annual savings by bringing energy management and CRC compliance in‑house.

Leadership & Responsibilities
Developed and led WSP’s global sustainability strategy, focusing on service integration, innovation and new market entry between 2013-2016.
Prepared monthly Board reports and strategic issue briefings.

Led a global network of sustainability experts across Canada, Finland, Sweden, the UK, Germany, the USA, South Africa, Australia, Asia, Colombia and the Caribbean.

Oversaw sustainability content for the annual report, website and WSP’s first stand‑alone sustainability reports.
Represented WSP on major external bodies, including:

Chair, Greening the Industry Carbon Group (Green Construction Board)
Chair, Constructing Excellence Sustainability Task Group

Major Achievements

Designed and launched Designing Future Cities, a new global sustainability service for cities.
Built strategic partnerships, led client engagement and sales planning, and promoted the service through blogs, articles and lectures.

Generated revenue across multiple business units and strengthened WSP’s position in urban sustainability.

Overview
Member of the Executive Leadership Team, reporting directly to the CEO.

Led the Environment & Sustainability Unit, managing a team of 18 with a £1.2m budget.

Responsible for embedding sustainability across all operations and transforming the business into a sector leader.

Leadership & Responsibilities
Developed and implemented an issue‑based, target‑driven sustainability strategy across the company.

Managed the company’s environmental management system, ensuring compliance and continual improvement.

Served as a Director of BeOnsite, the company’s not‑for‑profit delivering employer‑led training and employment opportunities for socially disadvantaged groups.

Represented the business on key external bodies, including:

  • CBI Environmental Committee
  • WWF‑UK’s 95+ Group (GFTN Advisory Board)Major Achievement

Delivered all three‑year sustainability targets, including:

  • 19% carbon reduction
  • Construction waste diversion from landfill improved from 66% to 94%
  • Responsible sourcing programmes for timber, concrete and other key materials
  • BREEAM Excellent design targets
  • Skills and employment programmes through BeOnsite

Led an award‑winning sustainability programme, recognised nationally for environmental leadership:

  • Business Commitment to the Environment Award (2009)
  • Green Business Leaders – Environmental Management (2010)
  • Green Business Awards (2009)
  • Sunday Times Green Company of the Year (2011, ranked 30th)
  • Awarded Environment Manager of the Year (2010) for outstanding leadership and impact.

Overview

Paul served as both a non-executive (1998-2002) & 2007-2011) and executive director at Article 13 (2003-2007), supporting the founders in growing one of the UK’s early corporate governance and CSR consultancies. His role combined strategic oversight with hands-on delivery of sustainability and responsible business projects for major clients.

Leadership & Responsibilities

  • Provided independent governance, startegic challenge and oversight during company’s early growth phase.
  • Transitioned into an executive director role to win and deliver client projects across CSR, sustainability, strategy and stakeholder engagement.
  • Supported the development of advisory services on corporate responsibility, risk management and sustainability reporting.
  • Returned to a non-executive role to provide continued strategic guidance and oversight.

Major Achievements

  • Helped strengthen the company’s governance and service offer during a formative period for the UK CSR and sustainability advisiry sector.
  • Continued winning and delivering influential projects that enhanced Article13’s reputation and client base. Clients included: BAA (Heathrow), Severn Trent, Tate and Lyle, Roche, Royal Mail group, National Health Service and national, regional and local government, such as DEFRA, the Cabinet Office, RDA’s, and the European Commission.
  • Provided long-term strategic continuity through two periods of board service.

Overview
Across six years at WWF‑UK, Paul held three progressively senior roles spanning international conservation, species protection, campaigning and sustainable forest management. His work contributed directly to the creation of new protected areas, the development of global conservation standards, and high‑profile policy influence in the UK, Europe and internationally.
Leadership & Responsibilities

Managed WWF‑UK’s Forest Programme, overseeing a £1.8m budget, a core team of five and coordination of seven additional staff.
Directed major conservation campaigns on European carnivores and tigers, shaping public awareness and influencing government policy.
Managed international conservation projects including the WWF Siberian Tiger Conservation Project, FSC development and climate‑impact research.

Worked with governments, NGOs, local communities and international partners to deliver conservation outcomes across multiple countries.
Served as a WWF media spokesperson, appearing on BBC Radio 4 Today, BBC1 News, Newsround, CNN and ITN.

Major Achievements

600,000 hectares of new protected forest areas established in Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal and Tanzania.
Developed new standards in sustainable forest management and expanded the area of FSC‑certified forests.
Established two new producer groups to support sustainable forestry and market access.
Influenced the UK Government to adopt a central timber procurement policy requiring sustainable sourcing.
Secured major policy outcomes for species protection, including:

Revision of Spanish and EU management plans for the Iberian Lynx.
Creation of a global tiger emergency fund and new conservation projects for WWF‑Spain.
A successful petition of 20,000+ signatures that persuaded US senators to change legislation on labelling of endangered animal parts.

Raised public and political awareness of illegal wildlife trade and climate impacts on species conservation.