Tuesday, 18 January marks our one-year anniversary of reinstating the Binnies brand within the water and environment sectors. We are proud of the growth we have achieved in the past year, supporting our clients to deliver innovative and award-winning projects that have benefitted from the support of the wider RSK group. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff for their hard work and reflect on some of our successes.
Award-winning projects – Binnies UK won two awards at the Institute of Asset Management: the Corporate Transformation Award for Digital Blueprint work with Denmark’s largest water company Aarhus Vand and the Digital Innovator Award for the Intelligent Satellite Dam Monitoring System iDMS. Our amey-binnies joint venture for Scottish Water received a Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) President’s Health and Safety Award, presented for seven consecutive gold awards for exemplary health and safety standards. Burton upon Trent’s Flood Risk Management Scheme (Phase 2) won the Judges’ Award at the annual ICE West Midlands Awards ceremony.
Binnies Singapore celebrated a Global Water Awards 2021 Desalination Plant of the Year win for The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant (KMEDP) – the only desalination plant in Singapore capable of treating dual sources of water while supporting the country’s water supply resilience.
Binnies Hong Kong was proud to win the ICE 2021 Award for Sustainable Water Management, recognising outstanding civil engineering achievements around the globe, for the Anderson Road Grey Water Treatment Plant. The company also won the NEC Contract Innovation of the Year Award 2021 for the ongoing Sha Tau Kok Sewage Treatment Works (STKSTW) and it took home the first runner-up prize for the NEC Sustainability and Climate Resilience Award of the Year 2021.
Digital solutions – Exciting developments this year have included new product launches for iDMS and our digital twin platform Helix, which was officially launched at Singapore Water Week. We have also created strategic partnerships with iVapps to support the digitalisation of water networks and KenWave to provide asset intelligence for water utilities.
Events –As a proud sponsor of Singapore Water Week, Binnies officially launched its new brand as part of the RSK group, building on a 100-year global legacy in the water sector and showcasing how the company is addressing some of the world’s most pressing water challenges. In October, Binnies launched Solutions By Nature to deliver blue-green infrastructure to the UK water market and in November, Binnies took part in COP26 as part of RSK’s Greening the Blue Chips. At the event, Binnies led a round-table discussion with key water utility clients, professional institutes, landowners and government bodies to gather cross-sector perspectives around the key challenges our industry is facing to deliver nature-based solutions.
Our employees – In 2021, Binnies recruited over 250 new hires globally, which is in direct response to our ability to win new work despite the pandemic. Binnies is growing and there are exciting opportunities to work as part of a new team or for new clients. We have also seen a high number of employees achieve chartered status this year, which is testament to the learning and development support our employees receive. As we enter 2022, we will continue to focus on building a business and a culture that focuses on enhancing lives, communities and the environment, underpinned by our ENGAGED behavioural programme.
Binnies Divisional Director Gary Young reflected on Binnies’ first year, saying, “I am proud and humbled by the way all our Binnies professionals have not only managed a change of ownership, but have embraced and engaged with other RSK businesses and people, delivering performance beyond expectations. We have created a division that through strong collaboration between the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and the other RSK business units has created significant opportunities for growth.
“Following on from our successful involvement in COP26, RSK and Binnies will have a strong focus on sustainability and carbon reduction in 2022, which has prompted the senior leadership team to think of how we may best celebrate our first anniversary, so I am pleased to announce that in 2022, we will be planting a tree for every Binnies professional in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. This will enable all our employees to feel that they have personally contributed positively to meeting our sustainability and carbon targets.”
Scott Aitken, Managing Director of Binnies UK, said, “It has been a hugely successful first year as a part of the RSK group, in which our people have continued to deliver excellent award-winning projects, bringing new innovative services from the wider RSK group to our clients. Our brand recognition and strength has grown significantly, evidenced by the new talent that has been attracted to our business and by our growth and project wins. I am extremely excited about the years ahead.”
Managing Director of Singapore William Yong added, “Our first year as part of the RSK family has been an exciting and memorable new journey for me and the synergies between RSK companies have opened up new areas and locations where we have not previously ventured. The successful integration of Binnies into RSK would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of many, and we should be very proud of what we have achieved. I continue to be amazed by the speed at which the RSK group is growing, and I have no doubt that it will achieve its 2025 vision sooner than expected.”
Managing Director of Hong Kong Andy Kwok commented, “Our first year as Binnies has passed quickly and very successfully, having grown our Hong Kong business with a number of strategic project wins together with an increase in our headcount. It has been a pleasure to relaunch the Binnies brand, building on our long heritage in Hong Kong. One of the year’s highlights was winning the ICE 2021 Award for Sustainable Water Management for the Anderson Road Grey Water Treatment Plant, which was received by RSK Chief Executive Officer Alan Ryder and Binnies Divisional Director Gary Young at a ceremony held in London in October. Together with the whole Hong Kong leadership team, I look forward to continuing to build on this year’s successes in 2022 and beyond.“