We were an early adopter of the employee ownership model, starting the transition in 1991. The practice is now 95% owned by a Employee Ownership Trust. In 2024, we joined 2,000 companies in the UK B Corp community that demonstrate high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency with a score of 87.0 across five key pillars of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. The median score for ‘ordinary’ businesses is 50.9.
“There is a strong synergy between our ethos and B Corp’s vision of conducting business in the knowledge that people and place matter, they are at the core of all we do. Reviewing where we are and how we can do better must be a constant process.
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We believe that business can be a force for good in society, and we embrace our responsibility to create a positive social impact for both individuals and community stakeholders by addressing their local needs. Between the 2023-2024 financial year, we have generated £187,875 of social value which has been verified by HACT.
“Everything was an opportunity to develop a philosophy that goes beyond building conservation. If everyone approached their projects with that level of care we’d be in a very good place.
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As a BCorp-certified practice, we firmly believe the heritage sector can be at the heart of a sustainable future. Our clients look to us to design and implement viable and appropriate interventions in their historic buildings and places so they are resilient to a changing climate – from adaptation to new weather patterns or mitigating further issues by reducing embodied and operational carbon emissions. Within our built projects we advocate decision-making based on whole-life carbon emissions – not just energy in use – and to take the long-term view by designing flexibly, specifying long-lasting and relatively local materials where possible.
We have been measuring our operational carbon footprint from the 2016-2017 financial year, and we have since reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 53%. From the 2022-2023 financial year, we have expanded our organisation boundary to include Scope 3 categories 1, 5, 6 and 7 which helps to build a more accurate representation of our overall emissions. Since 2025, our emission targets have been verified by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) in line with latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris agreement.
In 2021 we co-authored the Heritage and Carbon report with Grosvenor UK & Ireland highlighting the benefits of capturing the embodied carbon in historic buildings, calling on the UK Government to address the policy changes, skills and funding needed to make it possible.
Other examples of research and innovation in sustainability include:
Conservation architecture
We conserve buildings not by preserving them, but by helping them evolve. Our approach is grounded in deep research—understanding materials, construction, history, and use—so we can secure each place’s long-term vitality and cultural significance.
We conserve buildings not by preserving them, but by helping them evolve. Our approach is grounded in deep research—understanding materials, construction, history, and use—so we can secure each place’s long-term vitality and cultural significance.
Unlocking opportunity begins with understanding significance. Our consultancy team investigates what makes a place matter—its origins, evolution, and architectural value—and sets out clear, robust guidance for how it might adapt.
Every new intervention begins with historic context. We take time to understand the building or site in all its dimensions—its heritage, materials, character, and use—before exploring how new design might respond.
We help clients see the bigger picture—offering strategic, heritage-led input into the evolving shape of cities, towns, and landscapes.
For project enquiries, careers, and anything else, please get in touch.
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