BUILDING A BETTER TOMORROW
GILBERT-ASH & SUSTAINABILITY
Our core purpose is to make a difference to our projects, our people and our planet, through innovation, collaboration and determination.
As a responsible business, Gilbert-Ash is passionate about its impact on the world. Recognising the impact of the construction sector, Gilbert-Ash has developed a strategic, joined up approach, which will benefit our business, the environment and the wider society.
Our core purpose already guides us towards being both responsible and sustainable by ensuring we focus on people and planet through the construction projects we undertake.
In developing this ESG strategy, we have set our vision to:
- Be sustainable in our sourcing and use of products
- Understand the impact of our decisions on people
- Invest in the communities served by our projects
- Leave a positive legacy behind
- Dream big, act respectfully
Ray Hutchinson, OBE
Managing Director
OUR VISION & VALUES
Our core purpose already directs us towards being both responsible and sustainable by ensuring we focus on people and planet through the construction projects we undertake: to make a difference to our projects, our people and our planet, through innovation, collaboration and determination.
In developing this ESG Strategy, we articulated the type of company we want to be and we set it out here as our ESG Vision
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BE SUSTAINABLE IN OUR SOURCING & USE OF PRODUCTS -
UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF OUR DECISIONS ON PEOPLE & PLANET -
INVEST IN COMMUNITIES SERVED BY OUR PROJECTS -
LEAVE A POSITIVE LEGACY BEHIND -
DREAM BIG, ACT RESPECTFULLY
OUR VISION & VALUES
THE SDGs
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a globally recognised framework for action on sustainability and here at Gilbert-Ash, we are aligning with the goals in an effort to play our part.
Although what we have set out in this strategy will support elements of twelve of the SDGs, we have selected the following five as the ones where we believe we can make the biggest impact.
We will prioritise these in the development and delivery of our sustainability strategy and report annually on our progress.
The five priority SDGs where we can make the greatest impact:
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QUALITY EDUCATION -
DECENT WORK & ECONOMIC GROWTH -
SUSTAINABLE CITIES & COMMUNITIES -
RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION & PRODUCTION -
CLIMATE ACTION
OUR APPROACH TO ESG
With a purpose that focuses on people and planet and given how central the concept of place is to what we do, we’ve chosen to organise our strategy under the four pillars of People, Planet, Place and Profit.
Whilst ESG is about environmental, social and governance factors and is often presented under those headings, at Gilbert-Ash, we like to do things a little differently to reflect our personality and sometimes unique outlook.
The measurable goals we have set ourselves as we look towards 2030 are outlined on the following pages. We have also set milestone goals for 2025 to help ensure we stay on track and we will develop annual action plans to ensure we do not deviate from our purpose.
One aspect of our stakeholder engagement that we found particularly enlightening was around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In asking external stakeholders how important it was to them that Gilbert-Ash supported the achievement of the SDGs, a much higher proportion than we expected (82%) , said it was either ‘very’ or ‘extremely important’.
To that end, we have spent time in the development of this strategy analysing the SDGs and the Goals and Targets where we can have the greatest impact and have selected five priority goals. The specific targets we believe our strategy will help address are included in the details under each pillar.
OUR APPROACH TO ESG
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PEOPLE
- – Health, Safety & Wellbeing
- – Being an Employer of Choice
- – Ethical Workforce
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PLANET- – Energy & Emissions
- – Sustainable Resource Use
- – Nature & Land
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PLACE
- – Being A Good Citizen
- – Protecting Heritage & Architecture
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PROFIT- – Sustainable Procurement
- – Circular Economy
- – Creating Meaningful Jobs
People
As a responsible employer, Gilbert-Ash will strive to ensure that its people and those within its wider supply chain are treated fairly, ethically and with respect.
OUR PEOPLE GOALS
This is paramount and will continue to be a key focus in the course of all our operations. Mental health and wellbeing is of particular importance as we do our best to support our people to cope with increasingly complex, fast-paced and multi-layered lives.
This is what we strive for. Investing in our people to help them reach their potential. Embracing diversity and inclusion that exists in our society and reflecting this in our workforce.
With an engaged, healthy, well-trained and diverse workforce, our business will thrive.
These are key to who we are. We do not tolerate unethical employment practices and will not accept them from our wider stakeholders. Good governance is critical to our responsible business practices and is underpinned by our core values.
Modern Slavery Statement
Key SDG Targets we will contribute to:
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QUALITY EDUCATION
- Equal access to affordable and quality technical, vocational and higher education
- Increase the number of youths and adults with relevant skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
- Build and upgrade safe and inclusive schools
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DECENT WORK & ECONOMIC GROWTH
- End modern slavery, trafficking and child labour
- Protect labour rights and promote safe working environments
Planet
Our environmental impact is something we are acutely aware of and have been working hard to address for many years.
We installed solar panels and EV charging points at our new energy-efficient headquarters and increasingly address materials and resource use with our clients to lower the whole life impact of the buildings we construct.
We still have much to learn, but we are committed to finding innovative, sustainable solutions to reduce our footprint and any negative environmental impacts our work might contribute towards.
OUR PLANET GOALS
We will work tirelessly to reduce our energy and GHG emissions, achieving net zero in scopes 1 and 2 by 2030 and across our full value chain by 2040. We will educate and support our supply chain along the way to maximise our influence and minimise our impact on climate change.
Further detail on how we will achieve our net zero goals can be found in our Carbon Reduction Plan.
We will optimise our understanding of the resources and materials used in our value chain and prioritise reduction, reuse and recycling, as well as sourcing materials with high environmental credentials for our projects.
We will protect and enhance the land, biodiversity and ecosystems it sustains on our sites and projects.
Key SDG Targets we will contribute to:
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RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION & PRODUCTION
- Sustainable management and use of natural resources
- Substantially reduce waste generation
- Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
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CLIMATE ACTION
- Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
- Improve education, awareness and capacity on climate change mitigation and adaptation
Place
Constructing the buildings that enhance communities and contribute to a sense of place is a valuable contribution to society and one we’re immensely proud of at Gilbert-Ash.
Whether we do that through vital functional buildings where education can thrive or health can be nurtured, or through landmark projects that create stunning focal points in towns or cities or through residential projects that provide safe, beautiful homes, doing it with care for the people and planet is at the heart of how we work at Gilbert-Ash.
OUR PLACE GOALS
We thrive on projects where heritage and outstanding architecture are key features. We understand the importance of these projects and will continue to prioritise these in our work portfolio, mindful of the valuable contribution we can make to creating beautiful places that celebrate culture in its many forms.
We strive to add value to communities, not only through the buildings we construct, but through the contribution we make to improving life for people in that area. This addition of social value is something we’ve embraced on our projects and will continue to invest in.
Key SDG Targets we will contribute to:
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SUSTAINABLE CITIES & COMMUNITIES
- Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural & natural heritage
- Reduce the environmental impact of cities
Profit
Profit is imperative for any business, but how we generate our profits at Gilbert-Ash is of utmost importance.
Ensuring our efforts are underpinned by principles of fairness, sustainability and equity.
OUR PROFIT GOALS
We will utilise our influence and leadership position within the supply chain, to promote and reward procurement to companies whose sustainability values and efforts align with our own. We will also support those suppliers who demonstrate a willingness to improve.
Doing business differently, in a way that restores, replenishes, and designs out waste is where we aim to be in 2030.
Through employment and our supply chain we encourage people to contribute to a healthy economy. We will continue to prioritise fairness and equity through the jobs and opportunities we provide.
Key SDG Targets we will contribute to:
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DECENT WORK & ECONOMIC GROWTH
- Full and productive employment and decent work and equal pay for all
- Promote and support youth employment, education & training
MONITORING & EVALUATION
We understand the importance of regular monitoring to ensure we are on track.
We will be supported in our efforts by our investment in Sustainability reporting software that helps us record our targets and progress across every pillar detailed in this strategy.
Like other aspects of our business approach at Gilbert-Ash, this ESG Strategy will be subject to quarterly review by our senior management team and a process of annual target setting will help ensure we are current in our thinking and our approach to the material issues.
We will report quarterly at Senior Management Team meetings and develop annual action plans for implementation. There will also be an opportunity for other team members to join the ESG appointed champions to steer our efforts on each of the pillars.
GOVERNANCE & DELIVERY
This strategy has been approved by the Board of Gilbert-Ash and progress on its delivery will be incorporated into bi-annual IMS Management Reviews. Its delivery will be overseen by our Managing Director Ray Hutchinson.
ESG champions have been appointed to lead on each pillar:
- People: HR Director: Maria Bradley & HR Manager: Ciara McKevitt
- Planet: Senior Design Manager: Danielle Gillespie & ESG Lead: Michael Heron
- Place: Project Director: Ciaran Begley & Project Director: John Davis
- Profit: Purchasing Manager: Claire McGeary & Senior Contracts Surveyor: Lyndon Park
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
A comprehensive and two-way approach to communicating this strategy internally and engaging employees across all departments in understanding their role in its delivery is critical to our success.
Having introduced the pillars at our Spring Summit event in May 2022, further details will cascade through team briefings and learning lunch presentations and regular updates on progress. Key team members will collaborate in the delivery of the strategy to ensure it is embedded across the company.
REPORTING
We will report on and share our progress against this strategy openly and transparently through our website and the production of an annual ESG report. We will be aided in our efforts by the ongoing collection and analysis of sustainability data through our sustainability reporting software.
Download 2023 ESG Report