The State of Sustainability in Architecture and Design 2025

All designers want to make the world a better place. But what happens when ambition meets reality?

Our new report reveals how these tensions are shaping careers, hiring, and retention in 2025 and beyond, with practical tips for both sides of the hiring table.

A must read for anyone serious about Sustainability in Design.

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Sustainability Report 2025

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Watch the video

In this conversation, Chris Simmons sits down with report editor Hattie Hartman to unpack the most surprising findings. This is followed by a full breakdown of the handbook.

Based on a global survey of 350 architecture and design professionals, supported by insights from six leading sustainability pioneers.

Employer Handbook

A data-backed guide to attracting and retaining the best talent to your firm.

Candidate Handbook

A practical, evidence-based guide to building in-demand sustainability skills and standing out in the hiring process.

What's motivating candidates?

Why sustainability has become a deciding factor in career moves, and how it now outranks salary for many professionals.

Inside sustainability teams

How practices are structuring their teams, the resources they’re committing, and the most in-demand skills for the next five years.

Insights from sustainability pioneers

Practical lessons from six global leaders on overcoming barriers and making sustainable design a reality.

Where firms are falling short

The gap between public commitments and actual delivery, and the day-to-day compromises professionals are being asked to make.

Meet the sustainability pioneers

This group of leading voices in architecture, engineering and urban design helped shape the report, sharing how sustainability is transforming hiring, skills and career paths. Their perspectives highlight what employers need to attract talent and how professionals are building purpose-driven careers.

Hattie Hartman (Report Editor)

Sustainability Editor at The Architect’s Journal, host of the AJ Climate Champions podcast, author of Energy, People, Buildings and co-author of MATERIALS: An Environmental Primer.

Kossy Nnachetta

Partner at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, leading major projects including the mass timber Thornton Building and the redevelopment of Liverpool’s International Slavery and Maritime Museums. She actively mentors and champions fresh voices in design.

Andrew Waugh

Founder and Director of Waugh Thistleton Architects, known for pioneering engineered timber in the UK and internationally. He co-founded the practice in 1997 and lectures widely on timber’s role in sustainable construction.

David Ritter

Sustainability Lead for Grimshaw in Australia and New Zealand. Trained as both an architect and building services engineer, he is passionate about environmental design education and has taught extensively.

Caroline Pidcock

Founder of PIDCOCK, Caroline has championed green design in Australia for over 30 years. As co-chair of the AIA National Climate Action Committee, she is a leading voice on regenerative design, industry engagement, and education.

Heather Holdridge

Partner and Director of Design Performance at Lake Flato Architects, she has spent over 15 years with the practice and founded its five-strong sustainability team.

Tamar Warburg

Director of Sustainability and Associate Principal at Sasaki, Tamar brings over 25 years’ experience in sustainable design across Boston, Israel and Washington, DC, and leads the practice’s sustainable leaders programme.