Atkins

Like most of its rivals, the multi-disciplinary Atkins has not been immune to the economic downturn. Late last year chief executive Keith Clarke warned that hundreds of job losses could follow the UK government’s comprehensive spending review.

This was in large part thanks to the axing of Labour’s school building programme which had been one of the firm’s key earners. However, the firm’s 238 offices around the world have have been working on a huge range of projects. These include Capital Fort mixed-use development in Sofia, which will be the Balkans’ tallest building, and the Songjiang Hotel near Shanghai.

This year will see Atkins begin to help other FTSE-listed companies to count and cut their carbon emissions after being appointed the first UK consultancy partner to the international not-for-profit Carbon Disclosure Project. Clarke led the way during the UN Cancun climate talks in December by issuing a plea to the US’s design and engineering community to assume responsibility for cutting carbon emissions. “It’s imperative that we move beyond the rhetoric and into a new results-driven era with urgency,” he said.