Engineering consultancy Buro Happold and ecological restoration specialists Kew Reach have announced a new partnership designed to accelerate the delivery of science-led, nature-positive and climate-resilient solutions across the built environment and landscape restoration sectors.
Through the partnership, the two organisations plan to combine complementary expertise to drive impactful, evidence-based approaches that enhance biodiversity, restore natural systems and create sustainable places for people and nature to thrive.
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The partnership brings together Buro Happold’s engineering, sustainability, environmental and design expertise – including its established in-house ecology and nature and biodiversity practice – with Kew Reach’s specialist ecological and restoration capabilities. According to the organisations, the partnership creates a strong, complementary platform to address complex environmental challenges and deliver measurable outcomes for biodiversity, climate adaptation and sustainable development.
Kew Reach, drawing on the botanical and ecological research heritage of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, translates scientific insight into practical, implementable solutions that restore ecosystems, enhance biodiversity and embed resilience at landscape and urban scales. Its strengths lie in landscape-scale restoration, the application of deep plant and ecosystem science and linking restoration outcomes to long-term resilience and ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, through what’s known as the Kew Method.
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Buro Happold brings an innovative ecology practice supported by multidisciplinary engineering and sustainability expertise. Its integrated teams of ecologists, environmental specialists and engineers embed habitat restoration, measurable biodiversity gains and climate‑resilient nature‑based solutions into planning, infrastructure and development projects worldwide, ensuring that ecological science is fully integrated into design and decision‑making from the outset.
According to the organisations, bringing together their complementary scientific capabilities will help to support clients and communities in developing nature-centric solutions that are both scientifically credible and technically integrated. Together, they will explore co-developed approaches to biodiversity enhancement, ecosystem restoration and nature-based adaptation strategies that can be scaled across sectors and geographies, and aligned with wider sustainability and climate objectives.
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‘Kew Reach’s deep expertise in large‑scale ecological restoration – particularly its ability to link restoration design to long‑term carbon sequestration through the Kew Method – brings an exceptional scientific foundation to this collaboration,’ said Sam Holliday, global nature and biodiversity lead at Buro Happold. ‘Coupled with Buro Happold’s global experience in shaping policy and project outcomes at city, regional and national levels, this partnership creates powerful new opportunities for clients who want their developments to be climate‑resilient, nature‑positive and scientifically robust.’
‘This collaboration with Buro Happold represents an exciting convergence of science and design thinking. Kew Reach’s scientific foundations, underpinned by the Kew Method, give us a unique lens on how to restore and enhance natural systems with measurable impact,’ said Charlie Roper, director of business development at Kew Reach. ‘Partnering with Buro Happold’s broad sustainability, ecology and engineering expertise opens new possibilities for integrating nature-positive outcomes into large-scale infrastructure, urban development and climate resilience projects. Our combined skill sets will enable clients to realise outcomes that benefit both people and planet, rooted in scientific credibility and practical delivery.’
Together, Buro Happold and Kew Reach will begin engagement with select clients and pilot initiatives in the coming months, focusing on projects where biodiversity gain, ecosystem resilience and sustainable engineering intersect with spatial planning and long-term climate resilience.