Our approach

We are committed to a sustainable future and want to leave a positive environmental, social and economic legacy that future generations can enjoy. For us, it’s not about one-off projects or special initiatives but about the way we do business and the decisions that we make every day.

Our sustainability framework

Over the past year we have reviewed and updated our sustainability framework to make sure we are focusing on the issues that matter most for our customers, our business and our stakeholders.

We have increased our focus on sustainability issues such as placemaking, health and wellbeing and efficiency, reflecting our focus on delivering quality developments for our customers in the right way so that they benefit the wider community for the long term. We aim to be a customer-centric business, and we know that these issues can have a significant influence on customer satisfaction.

Our sustainability framework reflects our values and cultural principles, particularly our commitment to a sustainable future and to build a proud legacy. Innovation is also an important cultural principle for us, and we continue to explore new solutions to social and environmental challenges.

We will be working to develop our approach further, looking to set specific goals and targets in key areas as well as further integrating sustainability into our training and engagement with employees.

sustainability framework

Roles and responsibilities

Our Chief Executive is the most senior company executive with ultimate accountability for sustainability issues. Sustainability issues are regularly discussed by our plc Board, our Group Management Team (GMT), which is our most senior executive committee, and also the Group Operations Team (GOT), which comprises the GMT and our divisional managing directors.

At an operational level, sustainability activities are co- ordinated by our Legacy, Engagement and Action for the Future (LEAF) committee, previously called the Sustainability Steering Group. The group was renamed and its membership was updated in 2017 to reflect its broader and more strategic role in governing our sustainability programme and engaging our people in our sustainability agenda over the coming years. It is chaired by Lee Bishop, our Major Developments Director, who is a representative of the GMT.

At a project level, the sustainability aspects of a development are initially the responsibility of the land and planning departments with the involvement of the design teams. Project team members then have responsibility for ensuring that the appropriate sustainability measures are introduced as planned. Once work has begun on site, the production management team, including the site manager and contractors, takes on responsibility for ensuring that a wide range of site-specific sustainability issues are addressed and monitored.

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