Newsdesk
Sweco UK
Bryn Jones to put nature-positive consultancy at the heart of Sweco’s service ecosystem
We’re excited to see Bryn Jones step into a pivotal new role as Nature-based Solutions Lead at Sweco, where he will be championing nature-positive solutions across our portfolio of expertise – with a particular focus on the water sector.
With over 20 years’ experience as a landscape architect and environmental ‘dot-joiner’ – and 13 of them at Sweco – Bryn brings a wealth of knowledge to the new role, along with a deep passion for embedding a climate and environmental focus into projects.
“Nature-based solutions (NbS) as a label encompasses everything I’ve been doing throughout my career. It gives a name to the ethos I’ve always believed in – integrating climate resilience, biodiversity and wellbeing into everything we do,” Bryn explains.
Bryn’s vision is clear: nature and cost-effective engineering aren’t mutually exclusive – they go hand-in-hand. He sees a growing recognition from clients and the public alike that infrastructure must deliver broader benefits, from air quality improvements to active travel opportunities. “We don’t have to choose or compromise. It’s about embracing the ‘and’ – nature and climate change, and resilience, and clean air, and great spaces, and efficient critical infrastructure. It’s about doing right by people and the planet,” he says.
For clients, this nature-positive approach offers tangible benefits. Projects that integrate nature-based solutions can also deliver long-term cost savings compared to ‘non-natural’ alternatives that may have become the de facto answer to design questions. Additionally, creating healthier, greener spaces can improve community wellbeing and satisfaction, strengthening the social value of developments. “It’s not just about ticking climate crisis boxes, it’s about creating real added value for our clients and the communities they serve,” Bryn emphasises.
Protecting and improving nature is fundamental to the Green Transition. I’m delighted we have Bryn at the helm in his new role, working with clients in our growth sectors and bringing our various experts together to deliver nature-positive outcomes in our projects.
Andy King Director – Energy, Water & Environment at Sweco UK
In the Water sector, Bryn is particularly excited about the opportunity to embed natural solutions into projects over the next five years, with £3.3 billion of funding identified in AMP8 for catchment and nature-based solutions. He sees the sector as primed to lead the way in combining grey and green infrastructure and green-blue innovations to reduce long-term energy impacts while enhancing resilience and ecological value. “AMP8 presents a huge opportunity to shift the dial. And we’re not just preparing for the next five years – we’re literally planting the seeds for success over the decades that follow,” Bryn notes.
I am so excited to work with Bryn in his new role. With his background in Landscape Architecture, deep understanding of the diverse skills needed to deliver successful NbS, and passion for purpose-led design, he is perfectly placed to connect the expertise within our water and environment businesses.
Putting nature at the heart of our water solutions is essential. Water and ecosystems are deeply interconnected – healthy ecosystems sustain water resources, and water shapes the environments we rely on. By leading with nature in our designs we enhance sustainability, strengthen resilience and create lasting benefits for society.
Lindsey Russell Water Director at Sweco UK
Beyond the Water sector, Bryn also sees major potential in the (public) realm of placemaking – creating spaces that seamlessly integrate nature, mobility and community wellbeing. “It’s about connecting the possibilities that once might have been ‘either/or’ decisions. When we think about projects on a wider scale – weaving nature into decision-making rather than treating it as a bolt-on – we’ll unlock opportunities to enhance biodiversity, and create healthier environments for people, while still making sure things ‘work’ in the traditional sense of engineering a viable solution to overcome a problem,” he says.
Every city has the potential to connect communities to nature. It is all too easy to forget about the natural world if we are not exposed to it as part of our daily lives; and we are learning the hard way that if we do not seek to protect and restore global biodiversity, then the quality of human life as we know it will dramatically reduce.
For this reason, it is essential that urban spaces incorporate functional, nature-positive, green-blue infrastructure that can support the needs of people and the urban wildlife that relies on these habitats to survive and thrive. By understanding the value of incorporating nature into our cities, we can transform them into resilient places that prioritise equity and sustainability and pave the way for future generations to thrive alongside nature.
Dr Martin Brammah Sweco UK Ecology Lead
But what of Bryn’s overall vision? “Success in this role for me is having a nature-positive ethos embedded in everyone at Sweco so that everyone asks, ‘How can we use sustainable, natural design to make this a better outcome for everyone?’ As an industry we need to shift mindsets to think more consciously about the benefits nature can bring from the outset – again, focusing on that bigger picture goal that our projects must work for both people and the planet,” Bryn adds.
“A core element of the Green Transition, NbS not only reduce the impacts of climate change but actively enhance biodiversity – building resilience and enhancing adaptation to climate change by helping to safeguard human health, combat food and water scarcity and reduce the impact of events such as storms, flooding and extreme heatwaves.
At Sweco, with multi-disciplinary expertise across the planning, design and asset management lifecycle, we can guide clients and partners on the possibilities and opportunities of a nature-positive approach and also help implement and manage them with our global network of biodiversity and engineering specialists – and I’m hugely excited to help pull all that together in this new role.”