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Allan Rose BEng CEng MIStructE | Deputy Managing Director

Biography

The three faces of sustainability

Over the last 25 years or so there have been few major clients and projects with which Allan Rose has not been involved.

Allan has played a key role in determining the Group's strategy and development; he works at a strategic level with UK and international clients in both commercial and industrial projects, assisting in the development of new working practices, standards, and methods of procurement.

He is deeply involved with a number of the Group's most prestigious projects and has a hands-on approach from feasibility to final handover. Allan's experience of the manufacturing and automotive sectors is extensive and these have been his primary market focus for more than 15 years. He has successfully delivered projects in manufacturing and R&D facilities for BMW, Bentley Cars, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce, Honda Racing, Pro-drive, Ford, and Toyota, as well as numerous first- and second-tier suppliers. He is heavily involved with the commercial and retail sectors, specialising in site development issues and managing key accounts, and has also led a number of renewable and sustainable energy projects, including biomass and anaerobic digestion power plants as well as the sustainable and resource-efficient use of building materials and embedded energy.

The automotive industry has revived strongly over the last year, says Allan: "Expansion is what it's all about in the industry right now. That's where the manic activity is from time to time."

But the recession has taken a toll. "There is no spare wood in any business. This is the fourth or fifth recession that I have seen and each time the construction industry takes a step backwards. As a result, the care and attention to detail that we offer become critically important, as supplier and client teams shrink in size."

Allan recognises that sustainability has become vitally important in all projects: "It's de facto in every project. But sustainability is different things to different people. To some it's about minimising energy costs at the coalface. For others it's truly about the energy and environmental impact of what they are doing. And for a very few it's about true sustainability and the impact on the environment - the real cost of transporting material around the world, or using man-made versus natural alternatives."

"There are some businesses with a green mantra and an ethos of social responsibility, but at the moment they are a very rare breed; we may see further changes in this area."