Jacobs and AtkinsRealis Appointed National Highways' Environmental and Sustainability Technical Partner

Sustainable, resilient solutions to support England's critical road network

DALLAS, June 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE: J), in joint venture with AtkinsRéalis, has been appointed by National Highways in the U.K. to provide essential environmental and sustainability technical services to support the organization's strategy to reduce carbon emissions, enhance biodiversity and climate resilience, and support community wellbeing.

The AtkinsRéalis-Jacobs Joint Venture will work closely with National Highways to support the delivery of its Environmental Sustainability Strategy, which aims to achieve net zero emissions across England's 4,500 miles of motorways and major A-roads by 2050.

With a three-year duration, the contract has been commissioned through National Highways' Specialist Professional and Technical Services Framework. The joint venture will provide a range of technical expertise across priority areas, including designing lower carbon roads, developing nature-based solutions, mitigating pollution, optimizing resource and energy use, and integrating roads into surrounding landscapes.

"Our integrated project delivery will be essential in supporting National Highways' vision for a connected country and a thriving environment," said Jacobs Senior Vice President Richard Sanderson. "Leveraging our knowledge of the network and the supply chain, combined with our global environmental and sustainability capabilities, we are committed to helping National Highways foster a resilient natural environment, reduce carbon emissions and support community wellbeing."

AtkinsRéalis Market Director – Strategic Highways & Regional Roads, UK & Ireland, Peter Baynham said: "England's economy depends on our strategic road network and sustainability must be at its heart, not just for environmental protection, but because resilient, low-carbon infrastructure is essential for long-term growth. This appointment builds on our extensive environmental work with National Highways, including our ongoing collaboration with Jacobs and specialist supply chain. This combined expertise enables us to engineer roads which benefit both road users and the environment, continuing our work on sustainable infrastructure development across England's highways."

National Highways Director of Environmental Sustainability Stephen Elderkin said: "We are committed to delivering on our ambitious environmental sustainability goals. We want to have a connected country and a thriving environment. This means achieving our net zero targets, contributing to nature recovery and tackling local environmental pollution for the benefit of our neighbouring communities. In order to achieve those goals, we need to work collaboratively to accelerate the transformation of the highway sector. Drawing on expert support from our technical partners is a crucial step towards doing just that. The bid submitted by AtkinsRéalis and Jacobs demonstrated a strong commitment to these values, and we look forward to working with them to deliver this vision."

Through a collaborative delivery approach, the joint venture will engage a diverse supply chain, including Jacobs' strategic partner PA Consulting, small and medium-sized enterprises and academic representatives to create and deliver effective propositions that meet National Highways' environmental objectives.

Jacobs and AtkinsRéalis bring significant credentials, with an eight-year track record of previous collaborations through National Highways' Specialist Professional and Technical Services Framework. This includes the innovative "Structures Moonshot" project, which is exploring advanced technologies for bridge monitoring and maintenance, and trials of graphene-enhanced asphalt on the A12 which could extend road materials' lifespan while reducing carbon.

Additionally, both companies are members of the Roads Research Alliance, and have achieved PAS 2080:2023 verification for carbon management in infrastructure, demonstrating their systematic approach to helping clients reduce carbon emissions across the entire infrastructure lifecycle.

About Jacobs

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow – delivering outcomes and solutions for the world's most complex challenges. With approximately $12 billion in annual revenue and a team of almost 45,000, we provide end-to-end services in advanced manufacturing, cities & places, energy, environmental, life sciences, transportation and water. From advisory and consulting, feasibility, planning, design, program and lifecycle management, we're creating a more connected and sustainable world. See how at jacobs.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Facebook.

About AtkinsRéalis  

Created by the integration of long-standing organizations dating back to 1911, AtkinsRéalis is a world-class engineering services and nuclear company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. We deploy global capabilities locally to our clients and deliver unique end-to-end services across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and capital. The breadth and depth of our capabilities are delivered to clients in strategic sectors such as Engineering Services, Nuclear and Capital.  News and information are available at www.atkinsrealis.com or follow us on LinkedIn. 

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AtkinsRéalis:

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SOURCE Jacobs