My Business: Laura Hughes, Energy Sector Director, Costain

Can you tell us a little about Costain?

Costain is an infrastructure solutions company operating across four critical markets: transportation, water, defence and energy. We’re a 159-year-old business with a track record that includes delivering some of the UK’s most iconic infrastructure, including the Channel Tunnel, Crossrail and the Thames Barrier.

In the energy sector, Costain has decades of experience – our first carbon capture project was in the 1960s! Today, we improve people’s lives by solving our customers’ complex problems through excellence in engineering and project delivery.

What are your daily challenges?

As engineers, we thrive on solving problems. A significant portion of our day is dedicated to trying to really understand the nub of an issue, and then working with our clients to find the right solutions. We apply our critical thinking over a wide range of energy sector projects, from exploring the feasibility of converting existing petrol stations into hydrogen refuellers to managing the safety-critical gas mains replacement programme in the East of England..

Much of my time is spent planning for the future, ensuring that we understand how the market is evolving and how we can be best placed to play our part in the energy transition. I must ensure that we have the skills and capabilities that are required now and in the future, and that means that Costain has to continue being an attractive place that everyone wants to work in.

I’m continually amazed by the variety of projects Costain undertakes across the infrastructure landscape, from constructing a new dual carriageway or delivering London’s new super sewer. It’s impressive how we’re able to bring skills and capabilities from other infrastructure engagements to match the right people to the right job.

What’s your favourite part about working at Costain?

I joined Costain about a year ago because of its strong values align with my own. It is very important to me that, when operating in such a competitive and high-intensity environment, we focus on the ‘how’ of the delivery, as well as the ‘what’.

I am also passionate about creating an inclusive environment, where everyone can come to work, be their authentic self and make their best contribution. In Costain, I have found a company that is also committed to these principles, offering progressive people policies and investing in career development. This is fertile ground that goes a long way towards developing the team and environment that we need.

Costain was recently named in the Times Top 50 employers for gender equality, which is testament to the company’s commitment.

What has been your greatest achievement at Costain?

I’m incredibly proud of our recent successes, particularly in winning and delivering work that place Costain at the very forefront of the UK’s decarbonisation agenda. A standout example is the work we’re doing in Teesside with bp as part of the East Coast Cluster. After successfully completing the FEED for a new 12km carbon-capture pipeline system, we were recently selected as one of the partners to deliver the £4bn investment. This project will not only have a transformational impact on lowering the UK’s carbon emissions, but it will also benefit the local community, creating jobs and developing skills across a region that has been underserved for many decades.

Net Zero Teesside Power and Northern Endurance Partnership selected Costain to manage onshore CO₂ gathering systems for the East Coast Cluster

What have you learned?

Success today is all about collaboration. To move at the pace that we want to in energy transition, we need to develop ideas collectively, and cooperate to get things moving. We’re working closer than ever with colleagues across different portfolios, as well as our clients and supply chain partners to get the job done. The scale and rate of change required in the global and UK energy sectors is unprecedented, and it will take all the ingenuity and collaboration that we can give to solve the pressing issues facing us all.

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