As structural and civil engineers we’re always looking at ways to make our projects more environmentally friendly, giving clients and collaborators sustainable design options when it comes to the superstructure, or even drainage design.  These environmental credentials naturally extend to the way we do business – encouraging all staff to reduce their carbon footprint, either with their methods of transport to and from the office, or to site visits.

And, as an organisation, we’re involved in our local community in various ways. So we were intrigued when approached over a year ago by Fiona at David Miller Architects to ask if we would be interested in taking part in a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mentoring scheme run by an organisation called Heart of the City, the UK’s largest responsible small business network with a very strong membership base in the construction industry. The aim of the scheme is to offer support in the development of a formalised CSR strategy and encourage more businesses in the capital to become a force for good, making a positive impact on their workforce, community and the environment.  We’d seen some of the great things DMA were reporting on and decided to join.

Getting involved helped us look at how Symmetrys functions in the wider community, and we were surprised by the number of great initiatives we already had in place. Through mentoring budding engineers via 2 local secondary schools’ STEM programmes, offering work experience placements and sponsoring local football and walking netball teams we realised we had the start of a really great CSR programme.  And when we added in our on-going involvement in the development of the campus for children’s charity Coram, our staff as regular runners and riders for various charities throughout the year, plus the commitment we have to CPD and Chartership, we knew that we had to bring it all together in a way which could celebrate Symmetrys’ culture of responsibility.  With the launch of our new website, we’ve been able to create a space to highlight some of the great initiatives we have achieved, as well as our plans for the future.

We know it is all about small steps to make great change. We recently took part in Plastic Free July and you can see here how we changed our consumption at work and at home (as well as the bit in between). Our aim is to keep the momentum going with these changes, and introduce new initiatives regularly. Keep popping back to find out more – or get in touch to let us know what changes you’re making as we head into the roaring ‘20s.