Integrating sustainability

Integrating sustainability

Making sustainability an integral part of our business

Managing and accounting for the social, environmental and economic aspects of our business requires NG Bailey to adopt sound governance practices that enable the business to fully integrate sustainability into its business model, positively influence our social and environmental aspects, and achieve financial success.

Sustainability is a thread which operates throughout our management structures and processes.  At the highest level, sustainability director Cal Bailey is represented on our Board and Executive Committee. Our Group Operating Executive focuses on operational performance and comprises of directors who have specific responsibility for a range of social and environmental issues.

In 2010 we implemented an ethical working policy and we are establishing a sustainability and values group, which Cal Bailey will chair, to ensure that we uphold our values and deliver on our corporate sustainability strategy.

Establishing our priorities

Sustainability continues to be integrated into the executive decision taking process of the business.  The diagram below illustrates the way that our operation's in our own buildings, in the delivery of our services, and in creating a better built environment for our customers, have positive implications for society and the environment as well as some negative impacts which we aim to continually reduce and avoid.

Implementing sustainability

In 2009 our executive team agreed that NG Bailey should raise the bar and agreed a number of key environmental targets including cutting our carbon emissions and water consumption by a fifth, halving the amount of waste we send to landfill, and increasing the recycled content in the materials that we source.

This plan has been implemented under the banner of our latest sustainability campaign, ‘Target 2012’ in which we aim to achieve these targets by the end of 2012.

To achieve these goals we have both established management changes and engaged people throughout the business to define the actions that we need to take.  In 2010 we held a range of workshops throughout the UK with teams of our construction site staff in order to identify what practical and implementable actions would enable the company to achieve our sustainability goals.

These ideas were consolidated and then use to form the basis of a series of sustainability action plans for implementation by different business units and functions.  These plans operate as a form of internal contract.  By the end of our financial year we have implemented over three quarters of these actions, and begun to feel the benefit, for example through extending our fleet of eco-friendly site accommodation units, introducing low carbon plant and equipment into our internal plant hire list, and integrating Target 2012 goals into every project audit.

Fit for the future

The UK built environment accounts for 40 per cent of UK carbon emissions (BRE), with non-domestic buildings accounting for 18 per cent.   Our future success will depend upon our ability to provide the sustainability services and solutions which enable our customers to radically reduce their energy costs and carbon emissions in the most cost efficient way possible.

UK and European legislation will play a key role in this transformation. For example, by 2019 all new buildings will need to meet zero carbon standards.  Increasing taxation of carbon emissions, such as the Climate Change Levy and Carbon Reduction Commitment, or incentives to generate renewable energy, such as the Renewable Heat Incentive or Feed in Tariff, will continue to enhance the cost benefit of investing in low carbon measures in the built environment.  The implications of legislative changes and customer expectations with regard to energy and climate change and changes have wide implications for our marketplace.