Resources and waste
We are working to use resources more efficiently and to cut down on waste in our operations. This is important from an environmental and cost perspective and supports our work on climate change. In 2024, 98% of construction waste was diverted from landfill and we aim to increase this. Key construction waste streams on our sites include packaging, plasterboard and wood and these are priorities for reduction.
Towards zero waste
Our Towards Zero Waste strategy and action plan covers all stages of development from land acquisition to demolition, construction, occupancy and end of life. It focuses on improving our data on resource use and waste to enable us to adopt more circular approaches alongside target setting, incentives, training, supplier engagement and action plans for key waste streams.
Two working groups focused on construction waste and groundworks wastes are helping to lead efforts on waste reduction. Teams use our Waste Dos and Don’ts guide and waste reduction is included in our induction process for site teams. 15% of the potential bonus for Site Managers is linked to performance on waste reduction. Taylor Wimpey Logistics provides ‘build packs’ that can be requested on a ‘just in time’ basis by site teams, reducing the need to store materials on site which can result in more wastage.
Our waste intensity has reduced by 14.4% against our 2019 baseline, and 22.1% compared with 2023. Total waste volumes decreased year-on-year and by 44.7% against our baseline. The decrease year-on-year reflects work to engage our site teams on waste and to encourage reuse of inert waste on site. The decrease since 2019 also reflects the lower number of completions in 2024 compared with our baseline year. Our waste data for 2024 was externally assured by Carbon Trust Assurance.
132,000 pallets were picked up from our sites (2023: 105,000) and 47% of these were sent for reuse (2023: 46%). 62,000 paint pots were returned for recycling from our sites in 2024, reducing waste to landfill (2023: 58,000).
1,809 tonnes of waste wood was collected by Community Wood Recycling, a network of social enterprises. 38% of this was reused, 54% recycled into woodchip and 8% processed into firewood. This avoided 901 tonnes of CO2 and supported paid jobs for around 20 people and training for 30.
Reducing waste at source
By improving our processes we can often reduce waste at source. Recent examples include:
Plastics and packaging: During 2025, we will be launching a project working with Group suppliers to reduce packaging. Previously we have engaged with suppliers through two projects with the Supply Chain Sustainability School which lead to the publication of practical guidance for plastics and packaging reduction for the home building industry.
At Taylor Wimpey Logistics we have introduced measures to reduce plastic use (including on the build packs of materials for our construction sites) including moving to perforated shrink wrap sheets, reducing the thickness of shrink wrap from 125 microns to 75 microns, and switching to self-sealing clear plastics bags for ironmongery. This reduced plastics use by around 16 tonnes.
Plasterboard: working with our main plasterboard supplier, British Gypsum, to specify plasterboard sizes to suit our configurations to reduce waste from off-cuts. This contributed to a reduction in plasterboard waste of 6.3% in 2024, compared with 2023. We’re also looking at how we can improve on-site storage of plasterboard to prevent damage and wastage, and make it easier for site teams to segregate waste plasterboard for recycling.
Materials reduction: We have worked with a supplier to reduce the amount of board used in the off-site manufactured Smartroof system for our Room in the Roof house types. We expect this to reduce waste in the manufacturing process by around 120 tonnes. Our standard house types are designed to use timber studs and sheet materials of a consistent size which allows us to use pre-cut and treated timber and reduce waste from offcuts.
Reusable temporary decking: We worked with a supplier to develop a reusable alternative to temporary decking and joists (used to prevent accidents by covering stairwell holes during construction). This is now in use across our sites and we expect to save over 3,000 tonnes of timber and avoid up to 1,000 tonnes of CO2 over five years.
Excavation waste: We often reuse appropriate excavation waste and crushed bricks and blocks on our sites. For example, at our Stourport site in the West Midlands we have used crushed concrete for road bases and pipe bedding on site.
Recycled and renewable materials
We are working with suppliers to increase our use of materials with recycled and renewable content to improve resource efficiency and reduce embodied carbon. Current examples of products in use in our homes include:
- Our glass mineral wool insulation, supplied by Knauf Insulation, is made from recycled glass. The equivalent of around 7.5 million wine bottles were used to create our insulation in 2024
- Many of our window frames integrate recycled uPVC content and we are exploring opportunities to integrate other low carbon materials
- Our kitchen suppliers integrate recycled board and chipboard in our kitchen ranges
- Vinyl flooring that includes recycled content from offcuts
- Use of modular components manufactured off site which can reduce waste
- Plaster board specified to suit our configurations reducing waste from off-cuts
We are asking suppliers to provide Environmental Product Declarations. These are based on life cycle assessments (LCA’s) and include quantification of embodied carbon which can inform our procurement decision making.
Reducing plastics use
We have started to reduce plastics at TWL (Taylor Wimpey Logistics). This includes moving to perforated shrink wrap sheets, reducing the thickness of shrink wrap from 125 microns to 75 microns, and switching to self-sealing clear plastics bags for ironmongery. This has reduced plastics use by around 16.6 tonnes so far.
We have engaged extensively with suppliers on plastic packaging through sponsorship and participation in two projects in collaboration with other home builders and the Supply Chain Sustainability School. The first (in 2021) assessed the readiness of selected suppliers to provide data on plastics and other packaging, and the second (in 2023) published practical guidance for plastics and packaging reduction for the home building industry and its supply chain.
Working with suppliers
We have asked our national suppliers, who provide strategically important products and materials such as bricks, doors, sanitary ware and kitchens to provide information on their sustainability policies and performance. Results from this process show that: 53% of suppliers are integrating recycled materials into the products supplied to us, 33% are supplying Cradle to Cradle certified products and 27% are supplying products certified to the responsible sourcing standard BES 6001.
In 2024, we updated our approach to assessing risks in our supply chain. Each Group supplier is being assigned a risk rating based on factors including cost and security of supply as well ESG-related risks. This will enable us to prioritise higher-risk suppliers for further engagement and follow up. In 2025, Group suppliers will be asked to provide us with details of their ESG strategies and targets to inform our future supplier engagement.
Working with the Supply Chain Sustainability School
We use the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS), an industry collaboration, to help engage our suppliers on sustainability. Suppliers can use SCSS to complete a sustainability self- assessment, create an action plan and access free training.
85% of our priority suppliers were registered with Supply Chain Sustainability School and attended over 826 hours of CPD virtual training on sustainability topics such as waste, modern slavery, sustainable materials, biodiversity, and climate. 62 re-assessed themselves and achieved an average 24% improvement in score.
We are also working through the SCSS on collaborative projects on improving carbon data in the supply chain, waste management, plastic packaging and human rights.
Responsible timber sourcing
We want to use sustainably sourced timber to avoid contributing to deforestation. Our Sustainable Timber Policy commits us to procure timber and timber products from well managed forests with full chain of custody certification from either the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
We survey timber suppliers to understand the origin of the timber used in Taylor Wimpey homes, and to identify higher risk areas of the supply chain. We require any companies sourcing from higher risk countries to carry out due diligence to ensure timber meets our standards. At our timber frame manufacturing site, responsible timber sourcing requirements are integrated into supplier contracts and the facility has achieved certification by PEFC.
Around 98.5% of timber supplied by Group suppliers is FSC or PEFC certified. Of the remaining 1.5%, the majority was from suppliers who do not hold certification but only source PEFC or FSC certified timber.
We participate in CDP Forests, the investor-led disclosure initiative and in 2024 we scored B- (2023: B-).
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Engaging our groundworks contractors
Groundworks – the work done to prepare the ground and sub-surfaces of a site for the start of construction work – is typically the first stage of a construction project. It may include ground investigation, site clearance, sub-structure and ground stabilisation, contaminated land remediation, the creation of development platforms, strategic drainage, roads and sewers, utilities and landscaping – all of which can be energy intensive. Many of the carbon-intensive materials used on our sites, such as concrete, asphalt, and diesel, are purchased and used by groundwork contractors. We estimate that more than 50% of emissions from our purchased goods and services footprint is due to groundwork activity.
We are reviewing how we manage earthworks on our sites, with the aim to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce the amount of soil that needs to be excavated, moved or disposed of by looking at factors such as build sequence and design efficiency. We are committed to providing best practice guidance for our technical and engineering teams in groundworks engineering design and are reviewing on-site management and planning for the groundworking process. This includes strengthening our guidance on subjects such as sustainable urban drainage, site investigations, the design process and engineering remedial works through the adoption process
Our Groundworks Waste Working Group is developing our approach to measuring and reducing demolition and excavation waste. We are also engaging with groundworks contractors to understand their approach to carbon reduction with a view to working with them to trial lower carbon products and fuels.
We also work closely with groundworkers on safety.