We have continued to demonstrate strong progress in reducing our carbon impact. In 2025, we focused on embedding best practice across all our projects and consistently following our carbon site set‑up process. Now, as we reach the midpoint of Now or Never, we are moving beyond the early wins and into the more complex challenges that face the whole industry.
Much of our remaining carbon footprint sits in indirect Scope 3 emissions, predominantly from bought goods and services, and tackling these requires deeper collaboration and innovation with both our people and our supply chain. Together, we’re taking a proactive, long‑term approach to driving these harder‑to‑reach reductions.
Our zero-carbon ambition
Launched in 2020, Now or Never. Our Decisive Decade encapsulates our sense of urgency around climate change, committing us to decarbonise our operations by 2030. Our aim is to reduce emissions from our own operations to zero so that we will no longer need to offset our carbon footprint and to help our supply chain partners to reach net zero carbon in operation by 2040.
We publish our Carbon Reduction Plan in line with PPN 06/21 as part of this Now or Never review, which includes data independently audited by Bureau Veritas UK. Bureau Veritas UK independently verifies our sustainability performance against our Key Performance Indicators. Read our Bureau Veritas statement on our 2025 performance here.
To find out more about our declarations under the Government's Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) regulations and our full carbon footprint data visit the 'Carbon Footprint' section.
Climate Leadership
In 2025, Willmott Dixon was recognised by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) as a global leader on climate change and transparent carbon reporting, receiving an A score for climate for the second successive year.
We were among the 4% of companies worldwide who reported their data to make the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) 'A' List, recognising our global leadership on climate action and carbon transparency.
We also retained ‘Champion level’ status for our compliance with the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment.
Our Carbon Footprint
Since launching Now or Never in 2020, we have made significant progress in reducing our carbon emissions. By 2025, we achieved a 63% reduction in absolute carbon emissions compared to our 2018 baseline and our carbon intensity is now 85% lower than in 2010. This demonstrates that we have decoupled carbon emissions from growth and continue to make strides towards net zero. While we remain slightly above our long term reduction trajectory, we continue to apply best practice standards across all operations.
Today, the majority of our remaining direct emissions comes from transport and fleet, reflecting the substantial reductions we have achieved across site operations—where fossil fuel use has almost been eliminated.
Progress against the 2030 zero-carbon target
Sustainable fuel use on site
In 2025, we further strengthened our commitment to phasing out fossil fuels across all projects. Diesel now represents less than 1% of our total operational footprint due to our transition to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO).
We are working closely with supply chain partners to accelerate their fuel transition. By the end of 2025, 25% of supply chain fuel used on our projects was HVO.
Solar‑powered welfare cabins, delivered with our partner Advanté, have been deployed across 146 sites, allowing us to cut over 1,000 tonnes of carbon and save £450,000, since 2023, by replacing traditional diesel units (below). Running on renewable energy nearly 90% of the time, these hybrid cabins combine solar generation, battery storage, and low‑carbon LPG to provide reliable, low‑impact welfare facilities year‑round. This practical, scalable solution is helping accelerate our journey toward net zero operational carbon by 2030.
Energy efficiency also remains a core focus. Where we control energy supply, we continue to procure 100% renewable electricity, supported by our trusted partner, the social enterprise, Planet First.
We are also improving energy performance in our offices. In 2025, we helped a number of office landlords to switch their tariffs to renewable ones.
In 2025, 84% of our total electricity supply to our sites and offices (excluding transport) was renewable, up from 75% in 2024.
Salary sacrifice car scheme
With most remaining emissions now linked to fleet and travel, we continue to promote agile working, encourage homeworking, and reward our people for choosing sustainable transport options. For example, our 'green bonus' scheme is eligible for those chose an electric vehicle; it covers the cost of charge point installation at home.
In 2025, we evolved our company car scheme to further support colleagues in transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) without compromising financial accessibility. By the end of the year, 20% of our fleet was fully electric.
To support this transition, we continue to:
- expand EV charge‑point provision at offices and sites
- offer a low‑carbon salary sacrifice scheme for EVs
- support the installation of home charging units.
Carbon Offsetting
We have offset our operational carbon emissions since 2012 and will continue to do so until we have reduced them to zero.
We only invest in high quality, independently verified offsetting projects. In 2025, to offset our 2024 emissions, we began investing in high-quality removals projects (in line with Oxford Offsetting Principles). These included the Gold Standard Zambia Western Province Safe Water Project and the Leeds Production Facility (carbonated materials) carbon removal project.
Sustainable Procurement Policy
All Willmott Dixon supply chain partners are required to comply with our Sustainable Procurement Policy, developed in line with the principles of ISO 20400. The policy sets out how we and our partners influence procurement choices to reduce the consumption of primary resources, mitigate environmental impacts, and minimise the carbon emissions associated with the buildings we deliver.
We are a founding member of the Supply Chain Sustainability School; 61 of our supply chain partners are gold members, 43 silver and 67 bronze.
Supply Chain Emissions
We have committed to reducing emissions from purchased goods and services by 55% by 2030 and by 100% by 2040 from a 2018 baseline year.
Although we have made strong progress in reducing our own operational carbon footprint, this represents only 1% of our total climate impact. The vast majority of emissions come from the activities carried out by our supply chain on our projects. Addressing these emissions remains one of our biggest challenges and opportunities.
In 2025, a key priority was supporting our partners through an upskilling programme to build their capability in carbon measurement and reduction. Strengthening supply chain reporting not only helps their businesses but also improves the transparency and accuracy of our reported emissions. These ‘Scope 3 emissions’ come from our supply chain - primarily purchased goods, services, and materials - that we can influence but do not directly control.
To achieve this we:
Strengthened carbon reporting through the Supply Chain Sustainability School:
We worked closely with our key trade partners, particularly those with the greatest potential for carbon reduction, to mandate reporting through the SCSS’s carbon emissions tool. By the end of 2025, 96% of our partners were registered with the school and 182 submitted their carbon data.
Shared insights and enabled targeted reductions: Using insights from the previous reporting year, we hosted three carbon reduction trade workshops for partners with similar operations and carbon profiles. This approach helped identify practical opportunities to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions and supported the partners in upskilling their carbon literacy. A total of 82 key trade partners attended. Collaborative working with partners will support the transparency of reporting and enable reductions in our own Scope 3 carbon emissions.
Expanded our embodied carbon assessments: By the end of 2025, 93 of our projects had completed embodied carbon assessments. These assessments help customers understand the carbon impact of their buildings and, where appropriate, work with them to explore options to reduce it.
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