About - TEP - The Environment PartnershipTEP – The Environment Partnership

TEP is an award-winning consultancy providing multi-disciplinary environmental services to our clients in the private, public and voluntary sectors. Established in 1997 TEP provides independent high-quality environmental planning and design advice with a strong emphasis on personal service. We have grown steadily by sticking to our core skills and we now have a track record of over 7,000 projects, large and small, which demonstrate high-quality and sustainable development. No two places or projects are the same and TEP has professionals accustomed to working in multi-disciplinary teams identifying practical solutions that work well for the place and for the client. We believe in the power of teamwork, both in the way we organise ourselves and in the way we work with communities involved with our projects.

Download our Practice Profile to find out more.
Download our Terms of Engagement.

Our Values

As an environmental consultancy, we have a particular responsibility to help shape a sustainable and equitable environment for life in the 21st century and beyond. Our work is underpinned by our shared values. In short, we aim to be:

Honest: We keep our promises and are accountable and transparent to our staff, clients and suppliers;
Supportive: We are courteous and respectful to each other, to our clients and to the communities where we work. We want to be the best we can, diverse and inclusive, and stand against all forms of prejudice;
Passionate: We work to create and manage places which benefit society, enhance biodiversity and celebrate heritage;
Forward-looking: We invest in our future by continually improving our skills and services and keeping abreast of latest thinking. We maintain profitability to allow us to invest in our future;
Enterprising: We collaborate with our clients and stakeholders to provide high quality, sustainable, pragmatic and creative solutions;
Responsible: We respect and consider the aspirations of the communities and the environments in which we work.

Investing in people and social responsibility

We firmly believe the business maxim of Charles Dunstone: “if you have good people, you’ll have a good business”.

TEP has been an Investor In People since 2002 and rose to Gold Standard in 2011. Our second Gold Audit in 2014 stated: “this is a dynamic organisation with an excellent grasp of the benefits of investing in staff and is constantly seeking new and more effective ways to improve performance”.

Our staff are fully supported in their professional development and encouraged to play an active part in the way TEP is run. We actively value diversity and this is reflected in our Equality and Respect policy which is applied in recruitment, induction, promotion and retention. Our employee survey confirmed that staff feel that equality and diversity is actively encouraged at TEP.

We take our broader social responsibilities seriously and this is reflected in our daily work. We pay our suppliers promptly, pay the Real Living Wage, and promote sustainable development. We work with local and environmental charities contributing monetary donations and staff time. For example, we supported the Canal and River Trust with a clean-up day along the Rochdale Canal in central Manchester, we supported Cheshire Wildlife Trust with shoreline management in Wirral to care for natterjack toads and in the Midlands our heritage team took part in a month of varied outreach activities.

Download TEP Corporate and Social Responsibility Policy

Download TEP IIP Gold Certificate – 2023 – 2026

Quality, Safety and the Environment

We provide a high quality service that is prompt, reliable and client focussed.

Our systems are documented in practice manuals, procedures and work instructions that address statutory, regulatory and legal requirements, international protocols and industry codes of practice. TEP holds the following certification:

Quality Management System BS EN ISO 9001:2015
Health and Safety Management System – ISO 45001:2018
Environmental Management System – ISO 14001:2015

We adopt an ethos of continual learning, raising an understanding of quality assurance and health and safety within the company. We are certified by CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme), SMAS (Safety Management Advisory Services) and are registered on Achilles (the Utilities Vendor DataBase) and Constructionline.

We hold a Quality Mark from the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, based on peer review of our Environmental Impact Assessments.

We explore innovative ways of protecting our environment both in our projects and in our business. Our “Green Team” implements improvement strategies across the business and we support staff to embrace green initiatives.

TEP was the first UK consultancy to be carbon neutral under BS PAS2060, documentation available on request. Clients can be confident that when they engage TEP our work will be carbon-neutral. We have achieved year-on-year reductions in our carbon footprint, reaching our target of a 10% reduction between 2010 and 2015. Where we cannot avoid greenhouse gas emissions we offset emissions using carbon credits from overseas projects, such as the Floresta de Portel project in Brazil.

Clients

In a typical year, 300 clients in the private, public and voluntary sectors trust TEP to carry out numerous projects on their behalf.

We are appointed as long-term framework consultants to numerous public-sector bodies and blue-chip corporations. A selection of our clients and frameworks are listed below. Each client is assured of a personal and professional service.

Homes England

TEP is Homes England’s national land and risk management consultant, covering landscape, trees, ecology and vacant property. We are also on the Homes England Development and Regeneration and Technical Services Framework (DaRTS) for end-to-end technical and professional services, and placemaking, masterplanning and design services, through our association with Campbell Reith LLP and Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design Ltd.

Local Authorities and Public Sector Bodies

Derby Urban Design Framework, including local authorities in Derbyshire;
ESPO: Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation; providing planning consultancy to local authorities nationally and specifically in Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire;
NEPO: North East Procurement Organisation; providing planning services under the NEPO212 Construction and Engineering Consultancy to local authorities throughout UK;
Forestry Commission;
Hertfordshire Property Services Framework;
all-Wales Construction Consultancy (ecology and archaeology);
Cheshire East Council
Bloom (formerly NEPRO)

Utilities and Infrastructure

EirGrid;
Iberdrola Engineering;
National Grid;
United Utilities;
South West Water.

Trusts and Housing Associations

Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd;
City West Housing Trust;
Cutting Edge Framework, covering several UK-wide housing associations;
Derby Homes
Land Trust;
National Trust.

Housebuilders and Strategic Developers

Barratt Homes;
Bellway Homes;
Bloor Homes;
Countryside Properties;
Hill Residential;
Keepmoat;
Lovell Partnerships;
Peel Group;
Persimmon Homes;
Redrow Homes;
Taylor Wimpey Strategic Land;

Construction Industry

Balfour Beatty;
Keir;
Morgan Sindall;
Willmott Dixon.

Testimonials

“We have a design that has met with the approval of all of the stakeholders. This is no easy task in a National Park and TEP are to be congratulated in their efforts to achieve consensus” (South Lakeland District Council re Waterhead Public Realm)

“TEP’s involvement and contribution on ecology and landscape has been both invaluable and informative” (Taylor Wimpey re Whittingham Park Residential Development)

“They have a ‘can do’ approach and are always solution focused” (Chesterfield Borough Council re Chesterfield Gateways Project)

“It has been a pleasure working with TEP and they have provided excellent value for money” (Salford City Council re Worsley Delph)

“I recommend TEP for planning services. They deliver a highly professional service across a range of competencies” (Dong Energy re planning permission gained)

“TEP’s team has provided excellent support through the six years of the project. The scheme (a long linear project over 57km and several local authority boundaries) required environmental surveys in quite challenging timescales. One of the team’s strengths has been stakeholder engagement throughout the period”. (National Grid re Hinkley Point C Connection Project)

“A very pro-active and customer focussed company” (Homes and Communities Agency re our long-term landscape management consultancy)