Innovation

To be able to achieve a better planet to live in the future, a partnership between government, private sector, civil society and citizens are required and business practices have a large impact on the goals. This is where WSP takes actions focusing on 7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

We quickly realized that WSP were acting above our expectations of the UN sustainable development goals. The new launching of the company is an impressive improvement and we believe that this is a competitive advantage. As the large organisation, WSP are taking great responsibility when it comes to our future. WSP are not only working with sustainable solutions for existing problems, but are also planning Future Ready projects in order to prevent future environmental challenges. WSP are obligated to make sustainable solutions because of the impact the company have on the society and the environment. But the Future Ready projects shows WSP’s initiatives within climate engagement and influencing their stakeholders to choose sustainable solutions. Comparing different consultancy companies within the engineering and infrastructure we realized that they are many with a strong market value. Although, comparing the competitors to WSP and their UN goals we consider WSP to be one of the strongest on the market.

Inspiration

One of our group members was familiar with one of the employees at the company WSP Sweden. Therefore, our interest was to investigate deeper into the company and find out more about their organisational management. The rebranding of WSP, in 2015, caught our attention and we noticed that the company have committed to be a more sustainable corporation, focusing on as many as 7 of the UN Sustainable development goals.

This interview gave us the opportunity to get answers and information that could not be found online. Kristina did provide us with statistics, reports and data to get a deeper knowledge about gender equality and climate actions. She also gave us a personal insight regarding the operation environment at the WSP Stockholm office. Presenting clear strategies how they work towards reducing the environmental footprint at the office. Some actions to achieve these goals is by having an effective office arrangement, recycling processes, cyber meetings and technological solutions.

Overall impact

During this project we have got a deeper understanding of the UN goals and how important it is for companies to work with the goals in order to protect the planet and improve the way of living. A larger organisation, the larger impact, this results in more obligations for the company regarding sustainable solutions.

We also believe if the employees are satisfied with their organisation and work load, they are more engaged and perform better, because they feel involved in the organisation. We learn that positive extrinsic motivation make the employees feel important and valued, this normally results in better performance. The high recommendations rate at WSP Sweden shows a successful work satisfaction, and are serving as a motivational reward for the employee and affecting the whole organisation in a positive way.

By investigating WSP we noticed a new focus on the UN sustainable development goals. Of the 7 goals they adjust to they could supplement UN goal number 5 on gender equality. There promotion on diversity and inclusion are already affecting their successful work environment. Our recommendation is to focus more on gender equality to be able to add an eight UN goal to their list of focusing activities. This competitive advantage will strength the company even more.

Business benefit

A global organisation needs a well working function within the communication sector, because of challenges as time differences and distance. WSP have a well developed and structured organisation chart, which gives the different headquarters and offices the opportunity to well function. This developed communication strategy makes it easy for the employees to work efficient and the distance is not an obstacle. Taking the contingency theory in consideration, there must not be a right way to manage an organisation, but we believe that WSP have adapt their management strategy well to the organisations needs.

The ability to share resources and expertise within the international organisation gives WSP a competitive advantage. The right people are put together in customized teams to satisfy specific projects, at every stage of a project’s life cycle

Social and environmental benefit

The future world will be very different from today’s in many ways, and it is important for large organizations to work from a sustainable perspective. By advising clients on a range of future scenarios WSP embraces the climate, demography, resources and technology for a sustainable society. This opportunity creates better investments for the clients and delivers sustainable projects which is beneficial for the business, client and environment. “Future Ready”, is the name of the sustainable program at WSP, offering projects that are ready for both future and ethical codes. A couple of the “Future Ready” projects are; Water Crisis SOUTH AFRICA Smarter Solar Energy SWEDEN

Interview

Kristina Englund, Head of Division at Environmental