Black & Veatch wins Team of the Year – Energy – at SBR Management Excellence Awards

Culture of teamwork was instrumental in delivering complex energy infrastructure solutions.

Black & Veatch, a global engineering, procurement, consulting, and construction company with a legacy of more than 100 years globally and 50 years in Asia Pacific's energy industry, made a bold, environmentally conscious decision to discontinue its involvement in new coal plant projects in 2020, despite an immediate impact on Black & Veatch’s near-term revenue in the region.

As of the beginning of 2022, Black & Veatch also initiated a comprehensive business transformation to enable further companywide growth. In Asia Pacific, this unlocked an enhanced portfolio of new clean energy solutions helping regional players steer their organisations through their energy transition and providing a fresh way to collaborate with new and existing clients in previously unexplored geographies. 

The company's strong culture, rooted in its status as one of the world’s largest employee-owned companies, played a crucial role during these transitions. The shared commitment to environmental responsibility, despite the financial challenges it presented, reflects a culture that strives to do what is right for the planet.

For championing and shaping the energy transition in Asia Pacific, Black & Veatch won the Team of the Year – Energy accolade at the SBR Management Excellence Awards. Now in its ninth year, this awards programme celebrates the remarkable achievements of leaders, innovators, teams, and initiatives that drive growth and make a positive impact on both business operations and workforces.

Innovative Projects

As legacy projects were completed in the region, Black & Veatch's Asia Pacific team shifted its focus from coal-based projects and expanded into North Asia, Australasia, and new geographies in Southeast Asia, broadening the scope of its business to offer a full range of infrastructure solutions to help lead its clients through the energy transition.

An emphasis on learning and growth emerged across the company's more than 1,700 professionals in the region, too. Hundreds of experts who previously had worked on coal projects participated in tailored training programmes and took on new roles to gain real-world experience in renewable and alternative lower-to-zero emissions energy infrastructure projects.

In 2023, Black & Veatch demonstrated its impact through three significant projects. The company’s Asia Pacific advisory team designed innovative financial mechanisms for the Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) programme, aimed at repurposing coal plants in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and India in partnership with the Climate Investment Funds. 

Additionally, it completed an engineering feasibility study to a framework for a potential US$ 500 million investment from Germany’s Augustus Global Investment into a green hydrogen production project in Indonesia. Black & Veatch has also made significant progress delivering a major large-scale combined cycle power plant facility using imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Philippines, complementing the country's increasing base load energy demand.

The company's dedication to exploring new opportunities and harnessing global expertise has resulted in numerous successful firsts for the region. These achievements include: New client sectors such as an electric vehicle decarbonisation project for a cement company in Thailand; multi-solution selling such as water design for a mining company in Indonesia; and groundbreaking technologies like hydrogen development in Vietnam and Indonesia.

Through a journey marked by innovation and transformation, Black & Veatch is co-creating an affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy future, driving growth for the company throughout the Asia Pacific region.

The SBR Management Excellence Awards is presented by Singapore Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2024 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's employee engagements and management initiatives, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at julie@charltonmediamail.com.