RPS, a leading multi-sector global professional services firm, provides an update on the strategic progress that has been achieved since March 2021 in relation to one of the Group’s core thematics, Natural Resources. This is one of a series of announcements which will be published this financial year to provide an update on progress on each of the Group’s core thematics, the other two being Urbanisation and Sustainability.

Natural Resources, Urbanisation and Sustainability are the key market drivers that underpin demand for RPS’ services and skills. As demand for sustainable operations becomes increasingly critical for both public and private sector clients, these key areas also continue to benefit from government stimulus and future investment.

RPS is at the forefront of a global and complex shift in resource supply and consumption - working closely with its clients to define, design and manage the sustainable use and protection of natural resources.

RPS Renewables - a new approach to seize the global renewables opportunity

Resource scarcity and decarbonisation is at the top of the global, and our clients’, environmental, agenda and the transformation of the energy sector is a critical element of the solution. Notwithstanding an increasing focus on the development of lower carbon solutions, demand remains high for multiple energy sources.

The momentum towards greater renewable energy development is proving to be an exciting and rewarding opportunity for RPS. Applying deep expertise in energy and environmental consultancy, RPS is leveraging this experience to align and consolidate its renewables capabilities and service reputation. RPS has deployed a new global platform to connect its experts across the business, develop larger scale integrated renewables opportunities and support innovation and technology enhancements.

The Group has prioritised working collaboratively across its segments to secure early life cycle entry. This has delivered several high-profile renewables projects, with new and existing energy clients including:

• BP/EnBW – Round 4 UK offshore wind farm
• Equinor – Firefly offshore wind farm, South Korea

RPS is also creating exciting career and development opportunities for its people, as well as attracting new talent to the business. The Group has a particular focus on harnessing those people with transferrable skills to develop into new low carbon projects and roles.

UK Water - innovation to meet water asset management (AMP7) challenges

RPS’ Services UK & Netherlands business is working closely with many long-standing water industry clients to develop industry-leading solutions to water resource asset management. The Group is successfully leveraging its technical expertise and bespoke, market-leading software solutions to build asset resilience, reduce leakage and prevent flooding and pollution, as well as using data to maximise the impact and minimise the disruption of capital investment and operational maintenance programmes. 

By leveraging its deep technical and data expertise, the Group has secured several UK water contracts in the last six months. These include two new AMP7 contracts with Yorkshire Water which extend a successful 20-year partnership for a further eight years, and comprises:

• The expansion of an existing wastewater contract to include flood alleviation and environmental improvements. RPS will help Yorkshire Water understand how sewerage networks and watercourses perform and how they interact under different climatic conditions over time.
• A new contract providing clean water hydraulic modelling and monitoring services to support Yorkshire Water’s delivery of suitable water flow and pressure to its customers, early identification of network issues and management of its resilience and efficiency.

The collaborative nature of the work with Yorkshire Water has enabled the Group to further leverage its existing data assets, creating greater efficiency through automation of tools and processes. This success was achieved in partnership with RPS’ Consulting UK & Ireland segment and is providing a framework for RPS’ projects in the future as it continues to cement its leading position in this market.

Commenting on the update, John Douglas, CEO of RPS said:
“As leaders across the globe seek to tackle the world’s growing environmental challenges, our work in Natural Resources is becoming increasingly important. We are delighted to have delivered several strategically important initiatives in this sphere, both internally and for our clients. These initiatives will provide a new framework for our business and new ways of working to effectively meet our clients’ needs, as well as identifying new business opportunities.

“Our deep, global, collective expertise in energy and environmental consultancy, and exciting developments in technology-enabled consulting, positions RPS to help clients find solutions to some of the most complex issues surrounding the world’s consumption of natural resources.

“By working collaboratively across segments and harnessing RPS’ existing skills, specialisms, and relationships, we are creating new models for future growth as we identify and deliver key projects across the Group.”

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: RPS Energy