Trish Sunga
Australasia Press Office,Sydney
Arup has been recognised for its leadership in sustainable development by The Australian Financial Review (AFR), ranking number one in the inaugural Sustainability Leaders List (Professional Services, Engineering & Advisory category).
The List celebrates Australasian companies that are making real progress in tackling sustainability challenges – and delivering business value along the way.
Arup’s Australasia Region Co-Chair Kerryn Coker, said the prestigious accolade is testament to Arup’s success in placing sustainable development at the very heart of its business model.
“At Arup, our purpose inspires us to use our technical skills, our bold approach to innovation and to collaborate generously, in order build a more resilient, productive, equitable and biodiverse world. By elevating sustainable development as a priority for everyone and embedding it within the culture of our company, we have changed the way we think, and problem solve.”
Following a rigorous assessment, Arup earned the title of category leader based on the success of its transformative industry leading research and innovation program, Invest in Arup, which is dedicated to solving some of the planet’s most complex sustainability related challenges.
A percentage of each year’s revenue is used to fund the program, with almost $60m being invested across 2,800 research projects since inception in 2002. Data and insights from the research are used to guide projects and collaborations with clients, as well as inform government policy and shape industry best practice.
Some of the innovations that the Invest in Arup research program has helped to deliver include:
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Mycelium Floating Wetlands – ground-breaking research on mycelium as a solution for creating healthy waterways
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Perceptions of Night Time Safety: Women and Girls – exploring what contributes to perceptions of safety among women and girls, completely changing the way we practise urban lighting design
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Australia’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) – a game-changing highway design methodology that reduced construction materials and the environmental footprint of new road infrastructure, as well as traffic incidents and travel time
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REWILD Our Planet – a creative collaboration with PHORIA, Google, Netflix and WWF on a shared augmented reality experience highlighting the causes and challenges of climate change and encouraging collective action.
