Beca joins Watercare in 10-year partnership

Beca has joined Watercare as one of four partners to help New Zealand's largest water and wastewater company meet carbon reduction, cost efficiency and health and safety targets on infrastructure projects over the coming decade.

Following a pōwhiri and welcome ceremony on 26 July, Watercare Chief Infrastructure Officer Steve Webster signed contracts with design delivery partners Beca and WSP, and strategy and planning partners, Aurecon and Stantec.

“Signing up for a 10-year partnership means we’re providing the certainty our partners need to plan their resourcing, develop talent and invest in innovation and new technology. This in turn allows us to deliver the best water and wastewater infrastructure for our people, our customers and the environment,” says Webster.

“Over the next 10 years, we expect to spend more than $9b on water and wastewater infrastructure, and we have a responsibility to our customers to spend every dollar wisely. Our partners will help us to do that.”

The partnership is a key element of Watercare’s Enterprise Model, which is applying an agile and innovative approach to the design, planning and delivery of infrastructure in the long-term. This latest evolution of the approach builds on the strong foundation laid by Watercare and its construction partners, Fletcher Construction and Fulton Hogan, over the past three years – with all seven companies to be working closely together as partners going forward.

Beca Group Director – Utilities Clive Rundle is a strong advocate for the collaborative model the partnership represents.

“Partnering with Watercare on the Enterprise Model, alongside WSP, Aurecon and Stantec, is an important opportunity to drive enhanced outcomes for Auckland and establish a new, more effective way to deliver infrastructure in NZ,” says Clive.

“With our commitment to building strong and meaningful relationships, with clients, partners and the community, it really is an exciting time to be working in the sector, and to be contributing so actively to the safe and sustainable future of Auckland’s water.”

Representatives from the four partners will be co-located at Watercare’s head office in Auckland, to help enable connected thinking and enhanced collaboration.

Watercare’s targets, that the partnership will help deliver, are to:

• reduce carbon in infrastructure by 40 per cent by 2025
• reduce the cost of infrastructure delivery by 20 per cent by 2024
• improve the health, safety and well-being of all people involved in delivering infrastructure by 20 per cent year-on-year.

Find out more about all the work Watercare does to supply safe water to Auckland’s communities on the Watercare website.

For more on everything Beca is doing to rise to the challenges and opportunities of sustainability alongside our clients and communities, visit us here.

_{Pictured at top: Everyone at the pōwhiri at Watercare’s Newmarket head office.
Pictured at bottom: Watercare Poutiaki Tikanga Māori Richie Waiwai at the pōwhiri.}