Welcome to the latest in our People Portraits series, where we find out more about who’s who in Dar’s London office. And today we’re talking to Scott Smith, Head of Sustainability for Dar UK, and very much someone who walks the walk. (As you’ll know if you’ve seen any of his amazing allotment pictures!)

1. Hello Scott, and thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. Can you tell us how you became a Head of Sustainability at Dar in London?

Back in 2008/9, I was a Director of a specialised Engineering Consultancy, PHA Consult, which provided innovative, green, and sustainable solutions to projects around the world. One of our clients was Dar, and I became friends with some of the directors in the Middle East and in London.

After Fosters + Partners bought PHA in 2012, I kept in touch with my friends at Dar. Then, after my two year contract with Fosters ended, Dar asked me to set up the Specialist Sustainability Team in London.

Today, our Dar UK team provides Sustainable Engineering, Architecture, Sustainable Certification and Building Physics advice to Dar’s clients in the Middle East and Africa, as well as advising and supporting Dar Group member firms in the UK and Europe. 

2. And what route did you take into sustainable engineering?

Being the son of a Shell Oil executive, I dutifully became a Petroleum Engineer. After working for a year for a Texas Drilling Contractor, I found myself helping to design platform oil rigs in seismic conditions for offshore California. So, I decided to go back to University to get a Mechanical Engineering Degree as well. I met my English wife here (she was an international exchange student) and we moved to the UK in 1990, where I immediately got a job as a Building Services Engineer.

Fast forward to 2001 and I was hired by one of the first Specialist Sustainable Engineering Consultancies, Battle McCarthy, to provide Green Engineering Solutions for projects in the USA and UK.

I enjoyed the energy modelling and challenges of Building Physics, which drew upon knowledge from both of my Engineering Degrees. I also found I could bridge the gap between the Physicists attempting to solve the problems and Engineers trying to apply the solutions.

From leaving Battle McCarthy I’ve then been either part of specialist Sustainability Teams or tasked to develop Sustainability Teams from Atkins, Foreman Roberts, PHA Consult, Foster + Partners and Dar Al Handasah and the Dar Group.

I should add that none of this was by design, I just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, and have been lucky to work in a field that I really enjoy. 

3. Can you tell us a little more about what you do? What services do you and your team offer? What does a typical day look like for you?

We work very closely with the Dar UK Planning and Urban Design team to provide expert sustainability advice and guidance for their Master Plans. This could include assessing the renewable energy potential of a site, circular economic requirements, net zero carbon targets, effects from climate change on communities, shading strategies for external thermal comfort, determining water budgets for landscape and irrigation, or providing advice on meeting sustainable certification criteria.

We also work with our Engineering and Architectural teams in the Middle East and Africa to help them deliver sustainable infrastructure to support proposed new developments. This usually takes the form of a Sustainable Framework, input into Engineering and Architectural client reports, or reviewing proposed designs to ensure that the key sustainable design aspects are maintained.

Another service we provide is in Sustainable Certification. The Dar UK office is a Licensed UK BREEAM organisation, and over the last six years we’ve been working on over 60 BREEAM assessments. We also advise clients on USGBC LEED certification, and specialise in Middle East certification systems such as GSAS, Estidama, Al Safat, and others.

Sustainability is a very broad discipline and it’s hard to pin down. It can be applied in all sectors and requires a broad understanding of many issues, as well as the ability to bring various strands of a project together. Each day usually brings new challenges and problems to research and solve, and I’m rarely sure what I’ll be doing from one day to the next!

4. What would you say are the biggest sustainability challenges in the built environment now?

In my opinion, the biggest challenges in the built environment now are trying to deliver the changes needed to meet regional and global carbon emission targets. There has to be a profound shift in how we design buildings and urban environments. 

I can see all future buildings being constructed without fossil fuels as the primary source of heat. Electrification, where practical, will become a mandatory requirement in existing buildings, retrofits and processes. And transportation will shift to more electrical means of primary energy too.

However, this will require a huge investment in national electrical infrastructures, with much more joined up interconnected electrical energy grids. Renewable energy, nuclear, and grid scale battery storage will all need to be put in place, with local smart building scale energy storage (heat and electrical) to smooth and balance out the overall electrical energy load.

There’ll also be much more emphasis in the embodied and operational carbon of buildings, including the energy efficiency of equipment, appliances and unregulated plug loads.    

5. And what are you looking forward to most in the future?

I’m looking forward to being able to implement the sustainable design strategies that I’ve been advocating for the last two decades. Throughout my career, I’ve tried to put forward solutions to the built environment that are energy and resource efficient, materially sustainable with minimised impact to the environment, as well as to reduce waste.

With today’s awareness of the impact humans are having on our planet, my sustainable advocacy in the built environment is much more in demand. The projects coming in to our team require a high level of sustainable input, with budgets that are commensurate to the necessary requirements for innovative design.

There’s an increasing requirement for clients with large asset portfolios and campuses to better understand their carbon footprint and emissions, how they can best capture this information, and how to then implement carbon reduction strategies. I see this as a vital and interesting work stream in the coming years as more companies attempt to meet carbon targets in the near future.

6. Can you tell us about any projects you’re working on right now?

I’m working on a few projects in the Middle East and Africa at the moment.  Probably the biggest project that I’m working on and that I can talk about is Qiddiya in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Currently under construction outside Riyadh, Qiddiya is a visionary giga-project proposed for KSA under Vision 2030. This vast entertainment resort will be more than double the size of Disney World, and is expected to attract more than 1.5 million visitors annually when the first phase opens in 2022. We provided the sustainability framework for the initial infrastructure and detailed master plan in 2018. And, together with colleagues in the MIddle East, we provided the renewable energy feasibility study to outline what quantums of renewable energy should be considered for the project.   

Here in the UK, I’m working on providing the Sustainable Certification for our new Dar Group headquarters in London at 150 Holborn. Dar UK, together with our Dar Group member firms, have designed 150 Holborn to meet BREEAM Outstanding and LEED Platinum standards, and my team have been leading the certification through design and construction phases.

I’m also on the Heriot Watt University’s Steering Committee, helping them create and provide their Net Zero Carbon roadmap and targets in collaboration with Schneider Electric.

7. What’s been the highlight of your career at Dar to date? And what do you enjoy most?

During the 10+ years that I’ve either worked with or for Dar, I’ve really enjoyed the variety of projects that I’ve been asked to provide sustainability input into.

From mega-projects in the Middle East such as the second Suez Canal, Qiddiya, and the design of new cities, to working on projects and building designs in the developing world and Africa. And providing input into projects in Central and South America, as well as back home in Europe and the UK.

A stand out project of my Dar career to date was when I was asked to provide an Energy, Water and Waste model for the United Arab Emirates. The Urban Planning Council in Abu Dhabi wanted to understand the impact of how their Certification Scheme, Estidama, would impact the energy, water and waste infrastructure for the Emirates.

As you can imagine, the model for the entire country was very complex. However, it showed the necessary utility corridors for large-scale renewable energy, desalination of water and energy production, and the need for effective waste recycling and reuse.

8. What would you say to anyone who may be considering a career in the built environment and sustainability in particular?

Sustainability offers a very enjoyable and challenging career. As it covers a diverse range of topics, sustainability tends to favour generalists who are happy to get involved in different fields of expertise – from Engineering, Architecture, Urban Planning, Economics and Social / Societal issues.

Working in sustainability is also very rewarding as the main goal is to get the best out of designs and to make a real difference to our world.