Environment
We want to take an active part in tackling the environmental crisis by reducing the impact of our operations and supply chain, enabling customers to live more sustainably and by collaborating across our industry to support positive change.
Environmental governance and management system
Responsibility for achieving our environmental targets starts the top of our organisation.
Read about responsibilities and accountability at Board, Executive, functional and operational level
Resource targets
We have set annual targets for each business unit on energy efficiency, water efficiency and waste. Regional business management teams receive a quarterly report on energy and resource use which includes a user-friendly infographic to show how they are performing. They can compare this to our targets as well as to other business units.
Sustainability Sponsors and Champions
We have a Sustainability Sponsor in each regional business management team who helps to ensure focus on our targets. Each regional business also has a Sustainability Champion to engage colleagues on resource efficiency and monitor progress at the local level. They use our resource portal to track performance, assess the costs of resource use and waste disposal and compare progress with other parts of the business.
Environmental innovation grant
Through our Environmental Innovation Grant scheme we have provided small grants to colleagues for testing new ideas to improve our environmental performance.
Environmental management system
Our Health, Safety and Environmental Management System (EMS) covers all site activities and helps us to keep noise, dust and disturbance to a minimum, to prevent pollution incidents and to protect biodiversity. It includes:
- Our Site HSE Manual covers all relevant procedures and is regularly updated. Our manual can be viewed via a mobile or tablet while on site.
- All operational sites must carry out mandatory environmental checks and have a Site Specific Environmental Action Plan (SSEAP).
- LEADR our digital platform for assessing and managing sustainability and technical risks associated with land.
Read more about our approach to sustainable landbuying - Any risks identified must be managed and mitigated through the SSEAP.
- Site management teams are trained on our EMS and everyone on site completes an HSE induction.
- Training by our external advisors on Environmental Management Controls covering topics such as managing slit, dust, mud, and protecting watercourses.
- Employees, contractors and site operatives can use our Environmental Advice Line to get advice or, in the case of an incident, obtain specialist environmental support immediately.
- A quarterly environmental checklist for production teams which is reviewed by the technical team to ensure action is taken to address any identified issues.
- A review of environmental checks and SSEAP during monthly site visits by local management team directors, including unannounced spot checks.
- Annual internal audit of our EMS by our regional Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Advisers.
- Independent, unannounced HSE audits at every operational site at least once a month by our external site HSE advisers.
- External assurance of our carbon footprint data by the Carbon Trust to a limited assurance level.
We support the principles of the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) and over 1,000 of our sites have registered with the CCS since the scheme began in 1997.
We have updated our Environment Policy covering climate change, biodiversity, waste, water and timber sourcing and expect to publish this in 2023.
Regulatory HSE compliance
There were no environmental prosecutions or fines in 2022.
Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)ESOS is a mandatory energy assessment scheme for large organisations in the UK. Taylor Wimpey UK qualified for ESOS and we therefore conducted the required audits of the energy used by our buildings, industrial processes and transport, as well as identifying energy saving measures. We notified the scheme regulator the Environment Agency that we had met our ESOS obligations. You can download our ESOS Compliance Strategy:
