Whilst our impact on projects is big, our impact on the environment is small.

Working with our site supplier, Eurotec, we have reduced single use plastic cups by 100% and bottles by 95% this year; and have switched from plastic bubble wrap to corrugated cardboard packaging. We have switched 71% of our site signage from non-recyclable Foamex to cardboard, which is not only fully recyclable but has a crisper, brighter print finish. All employees have been issued with reusable fabric face coverings to reducing the increasing waste impacts from Covid-19 whilst still keeping our workforce safe.

We are working with Community Wood Recycling on four of our projects and will be expanding this to as many sites as possible by the end of the year. Based on a network of social enterprises, Community Wood Recycling carefully sorts and processes waste wood from sites, allowing it to be reused directly within community projects whilst also providing training and employment for disadvantaged people. From these four projects alone 12.5 tonnes of wood have been sent for high grade reuse, saving 12 tonnes of CO2.

Circular economy, or closed loop recycling principles – where waste materials are sent back to the manufacturer for reuse or direct reprocessing into new products – are now embedded on all of our sites. Partition company Westgate reuse their Hoardfast temporary partitions across sites as many times as possible before recycling them into new panels, with proceeds from this donated to the Marine Conservation Trust and our partner charity, Rethink Mental Illness. Ceiling tiles, carpets and raised access flooring – which are difficult to recycle through traditional methods and are therefore often sent to landfill or burnt at waste-to-energy plants – are now routinely sent back manufacturers for reprocessing. Recycling 18,500 m2 ceiling tiles from a typical project in this way results in:

  • 64,750 kg of waste diverted from landfill.
  • 92,500 kg of virgin raw materials saved.
  • 25,530 kWh energy saved.
  • 314,500 l of potable water saved.
  • 45,325 kg CO2 greenhouse gas avoided.

7 projects have achieved BREEAM certification this year – 1 Excellent and 6 Very Good – with LEED and WELLBuilding certifications also in the pipeline.

We have measured our climate impacts for the first time through the CDP global carbon disclosure platform; and will use this analysis to set carbon reduction targets and identify initiatives throughout our operations and supply chain. Measuring, reducing and reporting our impacts across a range of issues will be a key focus for the next 3 years.