Wood strengthens its commitments to sustainability

WOOD has announced a decade of action with new goals to improve lives, reduce impact on the planet, and sustain growth.

Wood announced last year that it would set a target to reduce its emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. It has now built on that by making commitments that will help the company meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new commitments relate to environmental responsibility, diversity and inclusion, business ethics, improving local communities, urbanisation, and growing populations.

Its aims include improving the gender balance (with 40% female representation in senior leadership roles by 2030), reaching net zero by 2050, ending use of single-use plastics in offices by 2025, doubling client support aligned to the energy transition and more sustainable infrastructure by 2030, and giving time and resources to global causes to improve communities.

Robin Watson, Wood’s Chief Executive, said: “As a business, we recognise the challenge in delivering a more sustainable future. That’s why our sustainability goals will work to address climate change on our journey to ‘net zero’ by 2050 or sooner, develop the diversity and talent of our people and actively improve workers’ rights across our global footprint. By building partnerships with key stakeholders including clients, investors, government, suppliers and communities, we can unlock solutions to some of the world’s most critical challenges.”

The company has also appointed environmental scientist Linzie Forrester to a new role of President of Sustainability who will ensure that the sustainability strategy is aligned with the UN SDGs. Forrester said: “Reducing our impact on the planet, improving people’s lives and sustaining profitable growth are all integral to our success as a business. By taking steps to make positive change, we are launching a decade of action that signals our commitment to ensuring sustainability becomes inherent to how we work, what we do and who we are. At Wood, we have the answers to global sustainability at our fingertips and I look forward to unleashing our combined power to meet these challenges head on.”