Willmott Dixon Re-Thinking director Julia Barrett has been hailed as one of the country’s top leaders at a prestigious business awards event.

Julia was proclaimed ‘Sustainability Executive of the Year’ at the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards for her leadership in making Willmott Dixon one of the UK’s most sustainable companies.

In her role as director of Willmott Dixon’s sustainability team, Julia has overseen a reduction in the company’s carbon emissions relative to turnover by 57% compared with its 2010 emissions. This is saving the company £3m a year in fuel and energy costs, and Willmott Dixon is also on track to be the first contractor powering all sites with 100% natural renewable energy.

Julia is also championing diversity in construction as an Ambassador for CN's Inspire Me initiative

BusinessGreen judges praised Julia for her impact in making both Willmott Dixon and the wider built environment more sustainable, saying, “The UK is blessed with many inspiring sustainability executives, and this year Julia Barrett took the title for her work driving Willmott Dixon's sweeping sustainability strategy, the numerous new environmental initiatives she has introduced in the past 12 months, and her long standing commitment to promoting greener building practices.”

The awards are a major event in the UK’s sustainability calendar, with the brightest and best from a range of sectors competing for awards, including the likes of Heathrow, Mars and Barclays.

The win follows Julia’s 'Green Leadership Award' at the Women in Construction Awards last year and further underlines Julia’s position as a leader of the sustainability agenda in the UK.

Julia said:

“I am delighted to have won the Sustainability Executive of the Year award. All of us at Willmott Dixon work incredibly hard to promote sustainability and are constantly challenging ourselves to achieve industry-leading standards. As a company it is something we are truly passionate about and to be recognised for my part in that is fantastic.”

Willmott Dixon has made sustainable development a strategic priority. It currently holds a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for sustainable development and also gained another Queen’s Award for Enterprise accolade in 2018, this time in the category of promoting opportunity for its work creating social value.