Category Archive

We are honoured that the Useful Simple Trust has been named ‘Consultancy of the Year’ at the edie Net-Zero Awards.

The Awards celebrate organisations across all sectors driving measurable, systemic change toward net zero. What makes them significant is their focus on real impact: projects and businesses that are genuinely moving the dial on climate action. Being recognised among this year’s winners reminds us of the scale of ambition needed, and the collective effort underway across UK industry.

With our work spanning corporate carbon strategies, operational energy, and embodied carbon, the real measure of success isn’t just in tonnes reduced. It is in the wider co-benefits we deliver, the industry collaborations we foster and the long-term shifts we help embed in how businesses and infrastructure projects approach decarbonisation.

Jo Dobson, our Director at Useful Projects, reflected: “This recognition reinforces our commitment to driving meaningful industry change, partnering with businesses, major infrastructure, masterplans, and estates to achieve carbon reductions in ways that are both ambitious and achievable given their specific context.”

Thank you to our teams across Useful Projects, Expedition Engineering, and Useful Studio, and to our clients who continue to push the boundaries of what is possible. There is still so much to do, but moments like this remind us why this work matters – and the importance of continuing to push forward together.

See this year’s edie Net-Zero Award winners here.

The Useful Simple Trust has been awarded ‘SME Employer Skills Champion of the Year’ at the 2025 Enginuity Skills Awards, recognising our leadership in developing the next generation of engineering and manufacturing talent.

Each year, Enginuity celebrates the teams and individuals who inspire and empower the next generation of talent in the engineering and manufacturing sector, fostering a culture of innovation, diversity, and collaboration.

This prestigious award recognises the Trust for “demonstrating outstanding commitment to sustainable business improvement through targeted training programmes and strong industry partnerships. Their work aligns perfectly with Enginuity’s mission to close engineering and manufacturing skills gaps.”

This recognition validates our approach to skills development and industry collaboration. The Trust’s commitment to education and training stems from over 25 years of forward-thinking partnerships with educational institutions and industry leaders. Our Founding Directors established a clear vision that continuous learning should be central to everything we do, embedding this principle in our Ethos:

‘We will educate ourselves and others. To grow the next generation, we will play an active role in framing educational curriculum and make time to help deliver it.’

Investing in future skills for sustainable growth

The Trust’s work demonstrates how strategic investment in skills development creates lasting value for both industry and society. Through our comprehensive training programmes and collaborative partnerships, we are helping to build a more resilient and sustainable future for the sector.

The Skills Awards ceremony showcased exceptional talent across the industry, and we congratulate our fellow finalists at Reliance Precision Limited and DePe Gear Company for their outstanding contributions to skills development. Our thanks go to the Enginuity team, the inspiring finalists and winners, presenters Mohammed Taher and Mimi Nwosu, and category sponsor The National Network of Institutes of Technology for making the evening memorable.

Watch the awards ceremony on YouTube.

The Useful Simple Trust (UST) has been recognised as ‘B Corp of the Year’ at the prestigious 2025 British Business Awards, reinforcing our position as a leader in mission-driven business innovation within the built environment sector.

A celebration of business excellence

The British Business Awards stand as one of the UK’s premier platforms for recognising organisations that demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and measurable impact across various industries. More than a simple accolade, these awards identify and elevate businesses that are actively transforming markets through responsible practices and forward-thinking approaches.

The ‘B Corp of the Year’ category specifically acknowledges organisations that exemplify how commercial success can align with – and indeed be driven by – unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and transparent governance.

Measuring what matters

UST’s achievement of a 123.3 B Corp score marks a 32% improvement from our previous certification, surpassing our 2027 target two years ahead of schedule. This score reflects our strategic focus on embedding impact measurement across all aspects of our operations, from project delivery to organisational governance.

“This recognition validates our long-standing belief that purpose and profitability are fundamentally interconnected,” notes our Head of Sustainability, Carrie Behar. “By setting ambitious targets and developing rigorous frameworks to track progress, we’ve been able to translate values into tangible outcomes.”

Leadership in practice

The award particularly highlighted several key aspects of our approach:

• Our Climate Transition Action Plan provides a structured pathway to carbon neutrality by 2030, with clear interim targets and accountability mechanisms.
• With 50% female representation on our Executive Board and 40% in leadership positions, our diverse team brings multiple perspectives to complex challenges.
• Our comprehensive approach to learning, including our Future Skills programme and regular knowledge-sharing sessions, ensures our team remains at the forefront of sustainable design practices.
• Through initiatives like ‘Useful Giving,’ we have invested over £51,000 in programmes that extend our impact beyond client projects, supporting education and innovation in the broader community.

As one of the UK’s first multidisciplinary design consultancies to achieve B Corp status, we have consistently advocated for systemic change within the built environment sector. Our active participation in industry bodies demonstrates our commitment to sharing knowledge and driving sectoral transformation.

The path forward

This achievement reinforces our determination to push boundaries in regenerative design and responsible business practices. Looking ahead, we are developing enhanced methodologies to measure our ‘project handprint’ – the positive environmental and social impacts of our work beyond basic compliance or standard practice.

We remain focused on strengthening our capabilities in areas such as circular economy principles, carbon literacy, and inclusive design. By continuously evaluating and refining our approach, we aim to create solutions that contribute meaningfully to a more equitable and regenerative built environment.

The 2025 British Business Awards recognition serves not as a culmination, but as a milestone in our ongoing journey to demonstrate how purpose-driven business can catalyse positive change at scale.