ARC Oxford named Responsible Employer of the Year
ARC Oxford, a leading science and innovation campus in the city, has been awarded Responsible Employer of the Year at this year’s OxProp Awards recognising its pioneering approach to combining world-class research and development facilities with a dedication to social and environmental responsibility.
Home to more than 3,000 people across 50 organisations, ARC Oxford has become synonymous with nurturing science and innovation, providing the space and ecosystem for companies to grow while keeping community wellbeing, inclusivity, and sustainability at its core.
Dan Williams, Director of Asset Management at ARC Oxford said: “We’re truly honoured to receive this award. For us, being a responsible employer means creating a place with an identity and ethos where people feel they belong, and our local community thrives alongside us. In our opinion, true success is only achieved when environments like ours stop acting as “islands” and instead look beyond their own boundaries to provide inclusive opportunities and investment to a wider geographical area, delivering enhanced social and economic benefits for all, which creates sustainable growth and a legacy that will last.”
Building Opportunity, Championing Inclusion
Located in one of the most unequal areas in the UK, the campus has invested heavily in initiatives that tackle youth unemployment, food insecurity, and mental health challenges in the local community.
Central to this commitment is ARC Oxford’s long-term partnership with Oxfordshire Youth. In 2023, the campus gifted a building to the charity to create the Oxford Centre for Youth Innovation, the first of its kind in the region. Since opening, the centre has delivered over 12,800 hours of youth work, supported 511 young people, and provided food and essentials to more than 130 individuals. In 2025, ARC Oxford went further, becoming a founding member of Oxfordshire Youth’s Business Guardians Programme, committing multi-year funding and hands-on leadership.
Emmy O’Shaughnessy, Deputy CEO from Oxfordshire Youth commented: “We are thrilled to hear that our partner ARC Oxford has been publicly recognised and celebrated for being an award-winning Responsible Employer. Their team goes above and beyond to channel resources to changing lives and communities, creating a more equitable Oxfordshire. Working with the team at ARC Oxford has propelled us forward as a charity to new scales of impact.”
Leading Through Sustainability and Design
From its award-winning green buildings to biodiversity programmes and decarbonisation projects, ARC Oxford embeds sustainability into every part of its operations. Its upcoming development, Ascent, will target BREEAM Excellent and deliver a 10% biodiversity net gain, while a new circularity initiative has already donated £36,680 worth of reclaimed construction materials to local non-profits.
Championing Health, Wellbeing and Belonging
The campus focus on wellbeing is at the heart of its offer and is championed by ARC Oxford’s Community Manager Jodie McNamara who is responsible for curating over 150 events and activities every year for the 3000 members at ARC Oxford. With free fitness classes, borrow a bike scheme, wellbeing clinics, and member social events, no day is ever the same for Jodie and her team, “We aim to create an inclusive, engaged community that adds true value to everyone who joins us. It’s not your average workplace – and that’s why our members love it”.
Championing Community and Talent Mobility
ARC Oxford is also investing in infrastructure for long-term social mobility, championing the reopening of the Cowley Branch Line to better connect the wider Oxford communities with jobs, investment, and opportunity.
Science Minister and Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor Champion, Lord Vallance, said: “The thriving campus at ARC Oxford shows how, supported by the right infrastructure, this region’s unique combination of businesses, universities, and skills is delivering jobs and drawing in investment. Empowering places like this to fulfil their full potential will be a key part of unleashing the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor as a driver of economic growth, which is a central pillar of the Government’s Plan for Change.”
Image credit: Aurelian Langlais and UKPF
