Equalities and Diversity Policy

Increasing diversity within our office

  • We recognise that ethnic minorities are currently under represented at Bell Phillips Architects and we are therefore taking positive action to address the diversity of our office.

  • We encourage job applications from underrepresented groups to build a business that reflects the society in which we live.

  • We hire the best person for the job and seek out diverse candidates by advertising in a diverse section of the labour market. Recruitment, promotion and other selection exercises are conducted on the basis of merit and against objective criteria that avoid discrimination.

  • Shortlisting is always done by more than one person to avoid bias.

  • Bell Phillips Architects is committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment. All staff receive equal treatment regardless of gender, age, disability, gender reassignment, gender identity, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

  • We take a zero-tolerance approach to bigotry and intolerant behaviour.

  • We operate a Grievance Procedure and Anti-harassment and Bullying Policy to ensure all staff have a recognised channel to raise issues.

Promoting diversity within the profession

  • We are keen to encourage people from differing backgrounds to enter architecture and are signed up to the London Practice Forum Ethical Charter which aims to advocate and lobby for positive change in the industry.

  • We also aim to encourage economically disadvantaged people into the industry with our commitment to the Mayor’s Diversity Pledge and the Mayor’s Access and Aspiration Employability Programme.

  • We provide support via work experience, mentoring and apprenticeships and currently take part in the Tower Hamlets school work experience programme to provide an opportunity to those who may not have considered architecture as a future career.

  • We are signed up to the Speakers Diversity Pledge to ensure that we only take part in events where speakers will be drawn from diverse backgrounds.

Environmental sustainability statement

We recognize that there is a climate emergency and acknowledge the significant impact that the construction industry has on the environment. At Bell Phillips Architects we embrace the responsibility for reducing our impact on the environment and accept that we must shift our behaviour, way of thinking and design approach to do this and advocate for others to do the same. 

Bell Phillips Architects are a founding member of the London Practice Forum which aspires to create a sustainable community, profession and environment and in 2019 we signed the ‘UK Architects Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency’ declaration.

We understand that design cannot be successful without being sustainable, and have developed the following principles to embed sustainability in our work and practices:

Social Value Statement

“After 7 years of being homeless, I have a beautiful flat, have managed to start work, improve my health and build a life worth living, it feels like I’ve won the lottery”.

— Sutton Housing Resident 2021

Social Value in practice

  • We strive to work ethically, considering human rights as well as the social, economic and environmental impacts of what we do. We work collaboratively with clients and communities and as a result social value is embedded in all our projects.

  • At Bell Phillips we share a social and moral compass, our values and ethics are important to us and we have a collective passion to improve lives through our design.  We are collaborative, friendly and all staff voices are heard. We aim to provide a supportive and trusting culture for staff to grow and progress through the practice.

  • We have a Social Value Working Group looking at Social Value in our design work and developing educational programmes, work experience, apprenticeships and other outreach activities.

Community Engagement

  • We appreciate the importance and value of consulting the end users of our buildings and believe that we should care as much about our buildings after delivery as we do before.

  • We undertake extensive consultation exercises on all projects to ensure end users can contribute to the design and feel part of the process.

  • It is following occupation that some of the most valuable lessons can be learnt and through post occupancy evaluation we can ascertain if end users are satisfied with the building and if buildings are performing as well as intended.

Raising awareness

  • Regular training and CPD’s are provided to all staff including diversity and unconscious bias training.

  • We have an Equality and Inclusion Team who meet monthly and review policy, plan training and CPD’s, consider equality and inclusion in our designs and seek opportunities to provide work experience, mentoring and apprenticeships. The Equality and Inclusion Team continuously monitor progress and suggest positive action.

Gender pay gap

  • We are committed to reporting our gender pay gap on a 6 monthly basis.

  • BPA current mean gender pay gap in hourly pay is 2.58% . This is the difference between the average of men’s and women’s pay as a percentage of men’s pay and shows that men at BPA earn on average 2.58% higher wage.

BPA median gender pay gap in hourly pay is 8.7%. This is the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of men’s and women’s pay as a percentage of men’s pay.

The BPA Proportion of males and females in each pay quartile are as follows:

Upper quartile: 50% female / 50% male

Upper middle quartile: 60% female / 40% male

Lower middle quartile: 83% female / 16% male

Lower quartile: 50% female / 50% male

The Gender Pay Gap is calculated using the government guidance:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-your-gender-pay-gap-calculations; however please just let me know if you have any queries about how this is calculated.

  • Our staff are 46% male, 54% female and 79% white, 21% Black, Asian, mixed race and other ethnicities (June 2023).

Diversity in design

  • We are working to ensure that our designs are inclusive and consider as diverse a range of people as possible.

We will strive to make all buildings we design net zero carbon, or carbon negative, in their regulated energy usage

  1. We will aspire to radically reduce embodied energy within the buildings we design

  2. We will promote the importance of the highest environmental standards as we believe truly sustainable solutions emerge from close collaboration with clients and consultants

  3. We will consider environmental, social and economic sustainability as three key factors to ensure our buildings will be affordable, community focused and will stand the test of time

  4. We will consider re-use as a first principle and design our buildings with adaptability, flexibility and the circular economy in mind

  5. We will implement a sustainability checklist reviewed at each project workstage

  6. We will promote the use of post occupancy evaluation to help close the performance gap between theory and practice and achieve real-world environmental benefits

  7. We will ensure our own studio procedures are regularly reviewed to consider our impact on the environment first, so that we lead by example

Outreach work

  • We recognise that creating successful places with sustainable communities is not just about buildings. It’s also about increasing opportunities for employment, access to shops and services, incorporating opportunities for public art and engaging with local schoolchildren and the community.

  • With every project we undertake we aim to contribute to the greater social value of the area including providing local jobs or apprenticeships during construction, incorporating enterprise space or shops, supporting local businesses and providing education and training.

  • We have an educational programme with activities for primary school, secondary school, sixth form and right through further education. We offer work experience to secondary schools, sixth form students and universities. We appreciate the financial implications of studying for architecture and are committed to providing apprenticeship places to enable students to continue to work while studying.

  • We have a commitment to employ companies and artists local to our projects wherever possible. We also have a volunteering programme which allows staff time off to volunteer for causes connected to the communities we serve.

Social Value in design

  • We are aware of concerns around isolation and mental health in modern society and the positive health benefits of natural light, ventilation, access to open space and so on.

  • Connectivity is a key factor encouraging sustainable modes of transport such as walking and cycling. By ensuring sustainable modes are prioritised, we will assist in promoting healthy lifestyles and tackling obesity whilst simultaneously bringing about improvements to the environment.