Our commitments
We have a clear purpose: to keep economies moving through meaningful engineering. We are committed to create a sustainable organisation that creates a lasting legacy underpinned by environmental, economic and social value for all of our stakeholders.
Sustainable development
As an International provider of multi-disciplined engineering solutions we aim to make a meaningful contribution to a more sustainable future by successfully managing the social, environmental, and wider economic impacts arising from our business activities.
We recognise that sustainability affects every aspect of our business and every industry in which we operate. It drives the way we operate, impacts our costs, generates opportunities, and helps us to contribute to our customers’ long-term profitability.
Our sustainable development approach includes:
- Preserving and improving the environment in which we operate, we are ISO 14001:2015 certified and strive to make the most out of the world’s limited resources.
- Delivering excellent value through resource efficiency, whole-life costing and continuous improvement.
- Making a positive contribution to our communities through engagement and investment in local skills and capability.
- Providing every employee with development opportunities and career progression, with clear routes for training and promotion.
It is our aim to support sustainable development in all that we do across the various sectors in which we operate. As part of this aim we have initiated a carbon reduction programme based on the following:
- Take a “whole” business approach to embedding carbon management in all that we do
- Raise awareness of carbon management across the business, and embed a culture of carbon reduction
- Actively take steps to reduce our carbon emissions across the business over the next 5 years
We will develop an ambitious and sustainable long term vision setting out how we will deliver our products and services in ways that generate value and protect the environment. This includes our 20 by 25 programme which is our commitment to reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide by 25% of our baseline measurement by 2025 by implementing our Carbon Reduction Policy and Plan, achieving net zero carbon by 2040.
Wellbeing & inclusivity
We continue to ensure that our organisation is a safe, inclusive and great place to work, where everyone can be at their best. We are committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of its employees and of any other person who may be affected by our engineering operations, at all of our sites, works and offices.
We believe that everyone matters, and we are committed to ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities to be able to reach their full potential. Our commitment is to have a workforce that is representative of society and we will continue to improve in this area, for example by continuing our journey to address gender equality in the workplace. We know that we need to be more diverse in order to have a greater understanding of our clients’ needs.
We’ve been working to discuss, learn, share and take a long hard look at our responsibility to address mental health in the workplace. We wanted to look at how we change the way that we make decisions, shape priorities and share opportunities in recognition that ignorance can damage our mental health and promoting the wellbeing of our people is central to realising our vision and mission.
The commitment, from the very top of our organisation is to provide as much support in this area as possible, for our colleagues, their families, and the surrounding communities. This involves:
- The continuation of our mental health first aid training programme, with time made available to care for and address the needs of our staff.
- Regular investment in independent, third party research and content applicable across various subject matters and audience types.
- Participation in charitable activities, community events and the continued sponsorship of local groups.
- Access to support networks, coaching and occupational health at all levels.
- Relevant help and support guides via internal employee network.
Inclusion ensures that no one feels left out or disadvantaged because of who they are. Inclusion is strongly linked to social and mental wellbeing and we want to create an inclusive working environment and culture which allows people to be themselves at work, giving people the freedom to voice their ideas – in turn encouraging innovation and improvement.
Community outreach
We operate internationally, and whilst the effects of our work are seen globally, we are still – and always will be – a family company, with strong routes in the North West of England and in the areas of our established offices around the UK. We are a household name in our communities, both as an employer and as infrastructure for professionals. It isn’t rare for us to see multiple generations of the same family employed, usually for decades. Our local communities are important to our business, and not only for a source of employment, but also to reduce our impact on the planet as we strive to buy our materials from local suppliers and to employ local trades to support our facilities.
We have a track record of recruiting apprentices and graduates, by investing and creating jobs in local communities to leave a lasting legacy and help communities to flourish. We will continue to focus on training, development and succession planning, underpinned with our commitment to the existing apprenticeship scheme, our graduate programme and also to develop our talent into future management; as this is fundamental to the success and sustainability of the organisaton. We recognise that young people are among those who have been impacted the most by the COVID-19 pandemic and by continuing to work closely with local schools, colleges and FE establishments, we can demonstrate our support to these communities by investing in the Future Generation of Engineering. Specifically, will target R&D investment in our business, helping to develop future systems, procedures and people to achieve the company’s strategic intention of increasing efficiency and market share. The company’s commitment to investing in our people and supporting our supply chain is already well established.
Away from our operational interfaces, there are many ways in which we will continue to support our local communities, such as:
- Sponsoring sports teams and events
- Donating to local foodbanks
- School visits and careers fairs
We will continue to promote the important role we play in our community, continuing to be proactive in our charity work and helping to grow and invest in the communities in which we operate.