Tony Gee has announced a new corporate charity partnership with three local wildlife trusts across the UK: the Surrey Wildlife Trust, Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

The new partnership reflects Tony Gee’s commitment to creating a more sustainable future and strengthening its connection with the natural environment. Through fundraising activities, volunteering opportunities and engagement with conservation projects, colleagues across Tony Gee will have the opportunity to make a hands-on contribution to protecting and restoring nature in the communities where the company lives and works.

The local wildlife trusts are leaders in habitat restoration, biodiversity enhancement and environmental education. Through the partnership, Tony Gee will support impactful nature recovery initiatives and help deliver positive environmental outcomes in the communities where the company operates.

The partnership also aligns with the continued growth of Tony Gee’s Environmental Services capability and the company’s ambition to integrate nature-based solutions more deeply into its designs and projects. It demonstrates Tony Gee’s commitment to environmental stewardship and strengthens its focus on delivering benefits for communities, clients and nature alike.

Alasdair Fowler, CEO, said: “We are delighted to partner with these local wildlife trusts as our new charity partners. Their commitment to protecting and restoring nature aligns strongly with Tony Gee’s values and sustainability ambitions. We were particularly drawn to the opportunities for colleagues to make a tangible difference in their local communities, making this a partnership that truly reflects who we are as a business.”

Tony Gee looks forward to supporting the fantastic work of the local trusts and creating a positive impact together in the years ahead.

Tony Gee launched a £10,000 Social Value Fund initiative in 2025, complementing its wider social value programme that includes ambassador activities, charity fundraising and volunteering. The fund provides financial support to colleague-nominated projects and organisations that promote community wellbeing, support local causes, enhance education and training opportunities, protect the environment, and deliver positive social impact.

One of the first applications to the Tony Gee Social Value Fund came from Josh Bullivant, Design Engineer based in Tony Gee’s Birmingham office. Josh’s partner works as a hospice nurse at Acorns Children’s Hospice, which provides expert care and support for babies, children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

Wanting to identify a project that would make a meaningful difference, Josh contacted Acorns’ fundraising team to ask how the Social Value Fund could help. Acorns recommended supporting Makaton training for its staff. Makaton is a communication programme that combines signs, symbols and speech and is particularly valuable for non-verbal children and young people who use the hospice’s services.
The hospice explained that improved communication can have a significant impact on both wellbeing and clinical care, helping staff better understand a child’s needs and symptoms. Funding was sought to enable staff to complete advanced training and become qualified trainers, allowing knowledge and skills to be shared more widely across the organisation.

Sharon, pictured, said: “Makaton is a really good communication tool for non-verbal or neurodiverse children. I remember one child who was signing ‘pain’ and ‘head’ and it became apparent that they had an ear infection. Without them being able to communicate using Makaton, that child would have been suffering, and we may never have known.”

Through Josh’s successful application, the Social Value Fund awarded Acorns Children’s Hospice £400 to support advanced Makaton training for members of its care team. The hospice said: “Sharon and Debbie completed the Level 4 Makaton training. They really enjoyed the course – it was hard work but really rewarding for both of them. They wanted to pass on their thanks to Tony Gee for providing them this opportunity. Sharon has received four certificates and as part of that she continues in her Sign of the Week to pass on the learning and communicate with the children.”
Following the training, Sharon and Debbie have been able to communicate more effectively with the children and young people they support. One particularly memorable example involved a non-verbal teenager who, through Makaton, was able to enjoy meaningful conversations that would previously have been impossible. The improvement in his wellbeing has been noticeable, and his family have been delighted by the positive difference the training has made.”
The impact of the training has extended beyond day-to-day care. Following the death of five-year-old Freddie*, his parents made a special request for Sharon to use Makaton to sign and translate a song played at his funeral. It was important to Freddie’s family that everyone present could understand the words of a song that meant so much to him. Thanks to the training funded through the Social Value Fund, Sharon was able to help make that moment even more meaningful for Freddie’s family and friends.”

This project is a great example of how relatively small Social Value Fund grants can make a lasting difference. By supporting specialised staff training, Josh’s application has helped improve communication, wellbeing and care for children and families at Acorns Children’s Hospice. It demonstrates the positive impact that can be achieved when colleagues use the fund to support causes that matter to them.

*Name changed for anonymity

Tony Gee collaborate with Kent County Council to support the local ICE Kent and East Sussex Branch host the ICE President, David Porter for a productive afternoon of events.

The first event of the afternoon was a panel session on the ‘The value of technicians as leaders: why they are essential to thought leadership, shaping policy and embracing diversity and inclusion for industry and institutions’ held at Mid Kent College. This event brought together two Presidents from different professional engineering organisations, welcoming David Porter, President of ICE, and Jason Clark, President of CIPHE, alongside other technician leaders from local businesses.

The event brought together consultants, clients and contractors from across the industry to explore the important role technicians play beyond traditional delivery, and how their practical experience, technical judgement and thought leadership helps shape the industry’s future. Liam Kimberley led the debate, setting the scope for the discussions, alongside Jason Clark, President of CIPHE, Ingrid Valceschini, Associate Technician at Buro Happold and Tom Price, Chief Executive at Informed Engineering.

The discussion reinforced the importance of recognising technicians as independent professionals working alongside engineers, not only for the quality of the work they deliver, but also for the significant value they bring as leaders, problem-solvers, mentors and contributors to wider industry thinking. The event highlighted the importance of technicians as our industry continues its journey into digital transformation.

In addition to raising the debate amongst the leadership in the industry, there was also an opportunity for students at the college to talk to the Presidents, asking questions about the industry. This conversation ‘You, me and the ICE!’ was led by a panel of professionals including Sue Hawkes, Charlotte Brown, Richard Tourney and David Porter and informed the students about what the ICE could mean to them and how to build a career.

Later in the afternoon, the group visited Bean Tunnel, where Kent County Council, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and Tony Gee’s Justin Ryan delivered a detailed technical briefing on the major civil infrastructure scheme to provide a Fastrack busway and a footway/cycleway linking Whitecliffe and Bluewater. This was followed by an immersive site tour, offering first-hand insight into the engineering challenges and solutions shaping this key infrastructure scheme.

A huge thank you to all involved for hosting a valuable and collaborative day.