About Us

Useful Projects is a sustainability consultancy driving positive change for our clients and society.

Our mission is to help organisations tackle the significant challenges they are facing –  spanning net zero carbon, circular economy and social value creation, to biodiversity net gain.

We help our clients find added value in delivering sustainable development, by providing expert independent insight in an engaging manner.

We provide a range of strategic and technical consultancy services and take pride in our ability to provide practical advice which is tailored to client needs. Our approach is holistic across a set of environmental, social and economic themes. Our challenge, in which we delight, is to work with clients to understand this complex arena, to identify opportunities for innovation and to develop practical approaches for implementation.

See our Services page for further information.

We’re Part of Something Bigger

We are part of the Useful Simple Trust group of companies, which is an Employee Benefit Trust.  As an employee owned organisation, everybody has a say in what we do and how we work.  The mission of the Trust is to blaze a trail in the integrated, intelligent and ethical provision of the human environment. Our sister companies are Civil and Structural Engineers (Expedition), Communications Designers (thomas.matthews), Architects (Useful Studio) and Engineering Educational Resource Designers (ThinkUp).

We’re a B Corp and Social Enterprise

Useful Projects is a B Corp and a certified Social Enterprise.

Becoming a B Corp™ is recognition of the fundamental mission and ethos of the Useful Simple Trust set out over 10 years ago. We are proud to be part of B Corp UK and a growing group of companies around the world that use business as a force for good.

You can read more about what it means to be a Social Enterprise here.

Our net zero commitment

The Useful Simple Trust is committed to leadership on climate action, through our projects and through the way we operate our business.

In line with best practice, we have calculated our corporate carbon footprint and set official science-based targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Our near-term net zero company-wide emissions reduction target is to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions by 46% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline year, and to measure and reduce our scope 3 emissions.

By signing up to the SBTi we have joined the Race to Zero (a UN-backed global campaign to take rigorous and immediate action to halve emissions by 2030).  Our targets are recognized on the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) website as well as the We Mean Business website and SME Climate Hub.

We have also joined the B Corp Climate Collective. In doing this we are part of a global community of learning and practice regarding climate action, climate justice and climate advocacy. To elevate what we are doing beyond science-based targets and demonstrate industry leadership, we also signed up to B Corp’s pledge to commit to Net Zero by 2030, which will require us to offset any residual emissions.

As an SME offering professional services, based in rented offices, our corporate carbon footprint is small.  Our biggest opportunity to influence carbon reduction is through our design and consultancy work in the built environment.  Through our GET SET ZERO approach, we are supporting all sorts of clients to accelerate their journey to net zero and to design buildings, masterplans and infrastructure projects with low whole life carbon emissions. Check out our project case studies for more information.

Our Clients

Useful Projects have great subject matter expertise and the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders on quite complex subject matter. I would highly recommend them as sustainability advisors on future projects.

Guilherme Johnston

British Embassy Brasilia

UP’s work is of very high quality, underpinned by strong research and technical analysis, and includes clear steps for implementation.

Claudia Escarlate

Rio 2016 Olympics

I would highly recommend Useful Projects as advisors for integrating sustainability further into organisations. The team have a wealth of experience, provide many innovative ideas in a structured approach, really care about the success of your programme and go the extra mile to provide a tailored service.

Charlotte Breen

Grosvenor Estate

We have been delighted with the service provided by Useful Projects. Useful Projects have provided expert support with the design, planning, tendering and management of this project. Communication has been first class with a real attention to detail. I am very happy to recommend Useful Projects without reservation. They have been a pleasure to work with.

Paul Enright

St Mark's Catholic School