Five years of success: AECOM’s Virtual Consultation
The nature of public engagement continues to evolve. Once confined to lengthy, inaccessible meetings, it now thrives on mobile devices — anywhere, anytime — reaching wider audiences and streamlining community’s feedback.
AECOM’s Virtual Consultation has helped define this shift toward digital solutions. Though the platform has pioneered a new paradigm for public engagement, it manifests in a familiar format: a virtual consultation event users can navigate with ease.
Now, five years after its launch, Andy Thomas, Head of Visualization & VR and Regional Director, shares his work on bringing this platform to life amidst a global pandemic — and how it has since successfully engaged millions of users worldwide.
A journey of innovation, impact & resilience
It was in November 2019 that I first received a call from James Sachon, lead of our Stakeholder Engagement team and now our Impact Assessment Practice Lead for the United Kingdom & Ireland, asking how we could make public consultations more engaging, more accessible, and — most importantly — more inclusive for a large infrastructure project we were working on together.
At the time, the idea of moving consultations online was still met with hesitation. Could we really create a space where people felt heard without being in the same physical room? That phone call still feels like yesterday — and it was the start of an incredible journey to change how infrastructure projects are delivered. That question sparked the creation of our Virtual Consultation — a mission to rethink how AECOM, and the industry, connects with people.
The spark that started it all
Back in 2019, Virtual Consultation was nothing more than a concept. I remember sitting down with James and our Stakeholder Engagement team, discussing whether we could create a digital twin of a typical public consultation in the UK. The idea was clear and simple: take the experience of an in-person exhibition and bring it online.
At first, it was just a modest experiment — a basic, handcrafted demo. We had no idea that within a few months, this concept would become an essential digital platform for our clients worldwide.
A relentless pace during the pandemic
Then came 2020. As the world shut down, everything about how we engaged with the public had to change. What started as a niche idea suddenly became critical infrastructure.
The pace at which things moved was unlike anything I’ve experienced. Our team was working flat out — early mornings, late nights, back-to-back meetings across time zones. There were days that started at 6 AM and didn’t slow down until past midnight. Everyone needed solutions, and they needed them fast.
So, we adapted. We introduced interactive maps, voice overs, video streaming, surveys, live chats, even AI — whatever was needed to keep consultations running. And as more organisations turned to Virtual Consultation, our team grew too, expanding to keep up with the demand from clients even as the world emerged from lockdown.
More than just public consultation
What surprised us the most was how people started using the platform in ways we hadn’t expected. At first, it was all about replicating traditional consultations, but soon, we saw its potential for much more.
Suddenly, Virtual Consultation was powering virtual exhibitions, career fairs, and even major conferences. Memorable projects range from historical landmarks like the National Railway Museum, to global sustainability milestones like the COP26 Virtual Pavilion, alongside education initiatives like STEM Ambassadors: Illuminating Careers and infrastructure innovation programme like Innovate@HS2.
Virtual Consultation has proven so useful, that it’s even powered engagement within AECOM. Our teams have used it for both internal and external events like our Australia and New Zealand Leadership Conference, Graduate Open Days, Recruitment Fairs, and technical capability showcases such as our Architecture + Design Virtual Exhibition.
Five years, 500+ projects, millions of visitors
Looking back, the scale of what we’ve achieved is something I could never have imagined in that first conversation back in 2019. Since its 2020 launch, Virtual Consultation has powered over 500 projects worldwide, created 1,000+ virtual rooms across seven regions, and drawn 2 million visitors with 20 million views.
Along the way, we’ve had the privilege of working with some of the world-renowned organisations, including infrastructure leaders like National Highways, Network Rail, HS2, Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW); energy giants like Shell, BP, and RWE; and federal agencies like the USDA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Navy.
A more sustainable way to engage
As someone passionate about sustainability and climate change, I’ve been especially proud to see how Virtual Consultation has contributed to our Sustainable Legacies strategy. By moving consultations and events online, we’ve reduced carbon emissions, cut down on travel, and significantly decreased waste. It may seem like a small change, but it’s nevertheless a meaningful step toward delivering long-term positive impacts for both people and the planet.
This also aligns perfectly with our Travel with Purpose initiative, which encourages thoughtful decision-making when it comes to travel. By prioritising digital solutions first, we’re reducing our environmental impact and promoting a healthier work-life balance for both teams and clients. It’s a win-win: we’re supporting our Net Zero goals while helping clients cut unnecessary carbon footprints too.
Recognising excellence: awards & achievements
We’re delighted that our hard work has been recognised along the way, with Virtual Consultation shortlisting and winning multiple industry awards over the past five years. Recent honours have included highly commended by the CIBSE Building Performance Awards on our COP26 Virtual Pavilion, with our partner UKGBC, and Best Community Engagement with our client, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, on the zonal drinking network upgrades project.
Seeing the impact acknowledged has been incredible, and it only drives us to keep innovating and improving.
The AECOM team have been incredible to work with in delivering the WasteBuild Zero virtual world. It is super important to us to be able to deliver our content to a global audience while minimising our carbon impact and also maximising the iconic venue we hold the event in. AECOM have delivered this and so much more than we were expecting, and I look forward to working with them again.
Founder, WasteBuild Zero
In a year where students have missed out on face to face events, the opportunity for them to virtually explore stands in an exhibition hall style space added an extra ‘wow’ factor and allowed us to create a unique event unlike anything on offer. The response to and feedback from who took part has been overwhelmingly positive. We hope we can work with the team again on similar projects in the future.
STEM Ambassador Hub Manager for Greater Manchester
With COP26, the world is ready to tackle climate change and the built environment has a crucial part to play. I invite everyone to take inspiration from Build Better Now as a global showcase of pioneering solutions to climate change and hope that it supports the industry to create more sustainable buildings, places and cities of the future.
Chief Executive, UK Green Building Council (UKGBC)
Looking ahead
While we’ve come a long way, we’re far from standing still. As technology advances and user expectations grow, with every project, we’re constantly enhancing performance and pushing the platform’s capabilities to deliver faster, richer experiences to connect with visitors worldwide.
Beyond that, we’re reimagining what engagement can be. Our platform has grown from a consultation platform into a fully-fledged digital engagement ecosystem. Whether it’s supporting public consultations, exhibitions, career fairs, or large-scale corporate events, we know there’s still so much more to achieve.
To our clients, partners, and the communities who have trusted us — thank you. Virtual Consultation is what it is today because of you. Here’s to the next five years — redefining engagement, breaking boundaries, and building a better future together.
| Explore our Virtual Consultation for yourself here. |