Private sector consulting sales up 24%

Business highlights


Business highlights in the year included:

  • AEA won the flagship cleaner coal project in China – the Near Zero Emissions Coal (NZEC) Initiative. This is a key element of the EU–China Partnership on Climate Change and aims to demonstrate coal fired power generation with carbon capture and storage in China. This first feasibility phase is being supported with UK Government funding.

  • AEA has been appointed for an initial three year period, with a possible extension for two further years, as Lead Contractor for Defra’s Sustainable Products and Materials Programme (SPM). The SPM Lead Contract replaces the previous Market Transformation Programme (MTP) managed by AEA. This responds to the planned broadening and increasing scale of work on products and materials, the need to engage with and develop practical working relationships with a much wider range of policy customers and stakeholders and the need to focus on driving change through more effective use of evidence. The Programme’s aim is to strengthen UK and international measures to improve the environmental performance of products, materials and services.

  • The LDA awarded a consortium, led by AEA, the contract to run the London Green500 scheme. This offers businesses and organisations a comprehensive service, including support and mentoring, to reduce their carbon footprint. It is a major element of London’s Climate Change Action Plan and over 100 of London’s top businesses joined the scheme in the first four months.

  • The Technology Strategy Board awarded AEA a major extension for 2008/09 in its role as managing agent of the flagship Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme. KTP is Europe’s leading knowledge transfer programme helping businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity.

  • AEA has retained, for a further five years, the major contract to provide quality assurance and assessment of the UK’s air quality data for Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland, through the Automatic Urban and Rural Monitoring Network (AURN). This is an integral part of a suite of programmes that support the measurement, understanding and policy making for the UK's air quality management and reporting under international conventions such as Kyoto.

  • The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills awarded AEA a contract to take forward the initial set up of a new Expert Resource Centre for Public Dialogue in Science and Innovation. Sciencewise, run by AEA since 2006, is a government programme which helps policy makers identify and carry out dialogue with the public in the early stages of science and technology policy development to help inform their decision making.

AEA has taken significant steps to increase its share of the growing private sector market for environmental and climate change advice, with turnover in this area growing by 24%:

  • There were key wins in telecoms, retail, paper, fast food, power generation and pharmaceuticals. AEA delivered fifteen major new carbon management programmes for national and international brands.

  • AEA will be supplying its renewable energy expertise as one of three selected specialist advisors supporting BT in relation to the biggest corporate wind power projects in the UK

  • A major independent environmental report, published by AEA, on one of the world’s largest integrated oil and gas development projects, on Sakhalin Island east of Russia, was published. The report is based on 4,500 man-days of effort in the growing area of environmental due diligence in support of major projects and financial deals.

Environmental customers across the UK voted AEA ‘Best Consultancy for Climate Change and Renewables’ at the Environmental Data Interactive Exchange (EDIE) Awards in October 2007.

Since the publication of the influential Stern Review on the economics of climate change, there has been growing interest in options to mitigate and adapt to climate change over the longer term. The Group has maintained its position as an energy and climate change consultancy, both in the UK and internationally. In addition to work already mentioned:

  • AEA has won a number of advisory contracts for the important new UK Government Committee on Climate Change. This Committee will advise government on the level to set its legally-binding carbon reduction targets.

  • The Group has helped its customers understand and address some of the biggest challenges of today, from the sustainability of biofuels, to devising and implementing the UK accreditation scheme for carbon offset schemes, to the likely effects of climate change in various geographies including southern Europe, Kenya and China.

  • In Europe the Group continued to win important contracts for the European Commission and its agencies, which will guide the EU as it drives towards ambitious climate change targets. Such projects also ensure AEA stays at the forefront of European policy thinking which gives a competitive edge in winning national and private sector work. Examples include ongoing projects on streamlining EU climate change and air pollution reporting requirements, quantifying the effectiveness of the European Climate Change Programme in delivering reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and reviewing eco–labelling and product policy.

  • AEA won the contract to lead the UK–Russia Climate Change Science Collaboration project, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Strategic Programme Fund. The aim is to further improve the UK and Russia’s understanding of climate change science and the physical and economic impacts on Russia and the UK.

AEA has continued to extend its work for the Devolved Administrations, RDA’s and Local Authorities. Opportunities are captured as budgets move out from central Government, further diversifying AEA’s UK public sector customer base. Turnover from these customers grew by 30%:

  • In both Scotland and Wales there were significant increases in scope and duration for the resource efficiency programme, Envirowise. AEA won influential projects reviewing climate change policy options and further work on the air quality databases and greenhouse gas inventories.

  • Projects have also been won for climate change strategies for several RDA’s.

  • The increasing requirement for more geographically discrete information, understanding, targets and actions on air quality and emissions was also evident at the level of English regions, Local Authorities and cities. This drove 15% growth in turnover for air quality work overall.

Transport is one of the key emerging sectors within the environmental and climate change area. During the year, AEA orders in this area doubled as a result of the following:

  • AEA won a large number of consultancy framework contracts, as sole, lead or specialist supplier for: Department for Transport (DfT), Commission for Integrated Transport, Highways Agency, Transport for London and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive.

  • AEA assessed the potential impacts of the proposed emissions related congestion charge for London and provided fuel economy advice to haulage operators as part of Transport for London’s Freight Operator Recognition Scheme.

  • AEA won new orders for its Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving behaviour change programme addressing the vans and aggregates community.

  • Aviation is moving further up the agenda. In the area of airport air quality, AEA prepared material for BAA at Stansted for the Public Inquiry and Planning Application for the developments around the current runway and the second runway respectively. For DfT, emission inventories were prepared for the Public Consultation on ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow’, including third runway options and AEA assisted at the twelve public exhibitions to present the Department’s findings.

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