About
Strategic sustainability adviser helping organisations shape, govern and deliver credible social, environmental and climate outcomes realising long-term value.
Paul , on behalf of Grimshaw, collecting the AJ 2025 sustainability initiative award for Minoro: the free web platform that supports climate action for new and existing buildings and infrastructure.
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.
Executive Roles - Paul's career history
Grimshaw: Global architecture and urban design practice - Practice Leader for Sustainability
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.
Balfour Beatty plc. Group Sustainability Director. Director of Sustainability - Civil Engineering and Construction Services
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.
WSP Group — Global Sustainability Director. Global design, engineering and environmental consultancy
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.
Bovis LendLease UK - Head of Environment & Sustainability, Construction Services and fit‑out
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.
Article 13 - Director and Non-Excutive Director. Corporate Governance and Sustainability Consultancy
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.
WWF‑UK — Conservation & Sustainable Development Roles - International conservation, species protection and sustainable forest management
Overview
Across six years at WWF‑UK, Paul held three progressively senior roles spanning international conservation, species protection, campaigning and sustainable forest management. My 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.
Director of Sustainability, Executive Leadership Team — Balfour Beatty Construction Services UK £3.5bn turnover • 10,000 employees • FTSE‑200 group.
As Director of Sustainability on the Executive Leadership Team of Balfour Beatty Construction Services UK, I led the sustainability agenda for a £3.5 billion division of the FTSE‑200 group, employing around 10,000 people and delivering major infrastructure and building projects across the UK. My remit covered rail, highways, water, aviation and building construction, including housebuilding. I was responsible for driving sustainability performance across project delivery, customer relationships, external stakeholder engagement, work winning, measurement and reporting, supply chain engagement, and staff training across all UK business units.
At Group level, I advised the Board on sustainability strategy and oversaw corporate reporting on environment and communities, reporting directly to the CEO and the Executive Board’s Safety and Sustainability Committee. I represented the company on government working groups and industry fora, and served as Trustee of the Balfour Beatty Charitable Trust. I designed and led the UK‑wide community investment programme, Involved, which delivered measurable social value through local employment and skills, SME support, local spend, and community engagement. This programme strengthened Balfour Beatty’s position in public sector procurement and contributed to securing major frameworks, including the £2 billion Scape programme.
I managed a 32‑person team with a £3.5 million budget, working across the Group’s investment, rail, utilities, facilities management and public realm businesses. To improve efficiency and reduce costs, I developed the business case to bring energy management and CRC compliance in‑house, saving £500,000 annually in consultancy fees.