Take 5 with Miranda Samson - Head of Sustainability
25th June 2025
Miranda, Head of Sustainability at BW, takes five to reflect on delivering industry-leading green building certifications such as BREEAM, LEED, and WELL, driving Net Zero projects and how she unwinds outside of work.
- Let’s start with you – what’s your background, and what led you into sustainability?
My career in construction began over a decade ago, and after spending several years on-site, I witnessed firsthand the industry’s impact on the environment, these experiences sparked a growing interest in how we could build smarter and more thoughtfully. Considering in particular, waste, circularity and responsible sourcing.
Driven by a desire to help shape built environments that are not only functional and environmentally responsible, but also promote occupant health and well-being – I feel privileged to play a part in creating spaces that reduce environmental harm while enhancing the quality of life for those who use them.
- Sustainability is now front and centre in workplace design. What’s your approach when leading on a project, and what does a BREEAM Outstanding rating really take?
In recent years there has been an increase in projects targeting the highest-level assessment ratings, such as BREEAM Outstanding. This is reflective of sustainable design practices and technologies becoming more accessible and better understood. With greater experience, improved materials, and stronger industry standards, teams can push beyond Excellent to achieve the highest levels of performance and innovation.
Achieving BREEAM Outstanding can be a challenge, it requires strong collaboration with all stakeholders from the very beginning and may incur higher costs for sustainable materials and technologies.
BW has a strong track record of meeting and often exceeding targeted ratings across green building certifications. Our success is driven by careful planning, proactive risk management, and the use of our robust, proven processes supported by our accurate data and reporting tools. We start by engaging our supply chain early, setting clear expectations from the outset, and bringing our partners along on the journey through upskilling opportunities, supported by initiatives like our membership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School.
The school is a joint initiative by leading UK contractors offering free training to help our internal staff, suppliers, and subcontractors become more sustainable. It’s an industry first and reflects our commitment to a more sustainable future.
A key feature is the smart self-assessment and action planning tool, which guides users through their sustainability journey. It creates tailored action plans based on each member’s role, clients, trade impacts, and current knowledge. Suppliers can reassess anytime, supporting continuous improvement.
It’s important to note that achieving BREEAM Outstanding may not always be feasible due to existing constraints and/or site limitations. However, committing to a sustainability framework, whether through formal certifications or a tailored KPI approach, that drives measurable improvements in environmental performance is always a positive and valuable step forward.
- What’s been your proudest moment in sustainability on a project so far?
We delivered our first Net Zero project back in 2022, which was a real milestone. Since then, reducing embodied and operational carbon has become a top priority for many of our clients, driven not only by the government’s Net Zero target but also by a growing awareness that we need to do more to reduce our impact and future-proof our buildings. Understanding that it’s not just about upfront carbon, it’s about ongoing performance across the entire lifecycle.
- For businesses looking to do better on sustainability, where’s the best place to start?
The best place to start is by understanding your current impact, specifically identifying, as accurately as possible, your direct and indirect (Scope 1, 2, and 3) emissions. There’s a lot of support available to help with this, including guidance on producing a carbon reduction plan, which can be a valuable first step toward setting meaningful sustainability goals. From there, setting clear, realistic goals and embedding them into company processes is key. It’s important to engage your supply chain and bring them along on the journey – upskilling, educating, and making sustainability a shared responsibility.
- And finally, when you’re not driving net zero targets, where can we find you?
Hopefully enjoying some downtime with family and friends, planning my next holiday, doing my best to maintain an 80/20 healthy lifestyle… and endlessly, joyfully (and slightly exhaustingly) singing along to the Frozen soundtrack with my two-year-old daughter.
