Modeling ambition in ESG

Having committed to achieving operational net zero emissions in fiscal year 2021, we set about cutting carbon across our entire business operations, including our supplier network. To improve the diversity of our workforce, we set ourselves goals to achieve a better gender balance across our organization, while looking at how we could improve on other specific and culturally relevant diversity goals. And in terms of governance, we pledged to develop a framework for assessing ESG risk in potential projects.

One year on, how have we fared?

Our commitments

Our strategy is designed around four themes:

• embedding sustainable development and resilience across our work
• improving social outcomes
• achieving net zero carbon emissions
• enhancing governance.

In each area, we’ve taken stock of our progress, identified opportunities to do more, and reviewed our objectives as a result.

1: Embed sustainable development and resilience across our work

To help clients navigate the urgent and changing demands in this space, we've launched our global ESG Advisory Services. Led by Robert Spencer, this offering supports and guides our clients through the entire lifecycle — from organizational-wide strategy through to the detail of the project-level technical ESG services required to deliver on ambitious visions.

We’re also investing in new processes and tools such as ScopeX™, designed to reduce carbon impacts by up to 50 percent on major projects — from urban planning to asset management — and which promises to be our most significant contribution to win the race against the climate crisis.

To gauge ongoing progress against our strategy, we’ve added a new commitment: to measure these and other ESG metrics across our operations and projects. To encourage rigor and consistency across the industry, we’re leading a taskforce on ESG measurement and transparency for the Sustainable Markets Initiative so that we can better assess the true ESG benefit of a project over time.

2. Improve social outcomes

To ensure we deliver social value through our project work and operations, our teams must reflect the diversity of the clients and communities we serve. We set a target to ensure women comprise at least 20 percent of senior leadership roles and at least 35 percent of the overall workforce. We’re making progress, with 18 percent women in leadership roles and 33 percent of our overall workforce being women. Supported by employee-led resource groups in our regions dedicated to equity, diversity and inclusion, we’ve also set a number of non-gender diversity goals this year, as relevant to specific regions and countries. To make sure we’re meeting our ambitions, we’ve set up a global social value group to support best practice and ensure that each region of our business is aligned on these practices.

Alongside our own ESG goals, we're helping our clients deliver real social impact through strategies, services and solutions. For example, on projects such as Henvey Inlet, Canada’s largest First Nation wind partnership, we’re ensuring that the design and development of sustainable, climate-resilient infrastructure progresses alongside consideration of, and consultation with, impacted local communities.

Environmental Business Journal announced us winners of the 2021 Business Achievement Award for Diversity and Inclusion

Employee Resource Groups (ERG) are voluntary, employee-led organizations designed to foster a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Our ERG program includes twelve groups worldwide with more to come. Covering ethnic diversity, we have the Ethnic Diversity Network in Europe & India, and three groups in the U.S.: BeBold for Black employees, MOSAIC for Asian and Pacific Islanders, and JUNTOS for Hispanic and Latin employees. We have gender-focussed ERGs in Europe and the U.S, as well as pride groups in both regions and in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). In Asia and ANZ, Connect groups have been set up for early career professionals, and in the Middle East and Africa we have AECOM Unity to drive employee inclusion and connection. Also on the way are groups for veterans, individuals with disabilities, and Indigenous peoples, and our early careers ERGs are expanding into new regions.

The teams have executive-level sponsorship, formal business outcomes, and charters and by-laws. They are the latest addition to AECOM’s award-winning ED&I initiatives and support AECOM’s ED&I pledge, “When we feel free to be ourselves, we thrive.”

3: Achieve net zero carbon

In 2020, we became the first U.S.-based engineering and construction organization to set emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), the UN-backed organisation that defines corporate best practice in line with climate science. Our targets were to achieve 20 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct emissions and indirect emissions related to our energy use) and 10 percent reduction in Scope 3 emissions (all other indirect emissions) by 2025. Due to significant progress made on these targets, and to show ongoing leadership in ESG as part of our Sustainable Legacies Strategy, we committed to two new goals based on the latest best practice: operational net zero by 2021 and science-based net zero by 2030.

Since making these commitments, best practice has advanced and I’m pleased to share that we’re again one of the first companies globally to have aligned our science-based net zero target with the new and more ambitious SBTi Net Zero Standard, released in November 2021. This means we have evolved our science-based net zero target to 2040 and are prioritizing the hard but necessary work of reducing in line with global efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Overall, our efforts should mean approximately 1.87 million metric tons less carbon emitted.

Our new, ambitious commitments are supporting our advice to clients on setting and reaching their own targets. From net zero roadmaps to energy transition strategies and nature-based solutions, we’re designing and delivering projects that meet our broader aim of creating Sustainable Legacies for generations to come.

4: Enhance governance

We’ve developed and introduced mandatory ESG training which provides a baseline understanding of our Sustainable Legacies strategy, and how our teams can help implement it. For those who require additional technical training and a deeper understanding to assist in client consultation, we’re creating a Sustainable Legacies Academy, with nine courses covering the science and impacts of climate change, decarbonization and resilience – with more to come. To drive accountability, we’re setting specific ESG goals for leadership and incorporating ESG-related key performance indicators into compensation, right up to CEO level.

Further, our global ESG Report was released in November 2021, incorporating the global disclosure standards from the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures) and SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board). We’re reviewing our ESG-related risk framework (implemented in 2021), and developing recommendations for respective updates – including how we can better support clients transition away from fossil fuels.