Highlights
- Dedicated environmental manager responsible for ensuring best practice is implemented on sites
- Company has corporate targets for resource reduction and each site also has environmental targets identified at the start of each project
- Environmental plan and site waste management plan developed for each construction site regardless of size
- Introduction of greener fleet software to track vehicle mileage and fuel use – estimated saving of over £100k in 2 years
- Overall diversion from landfill for the company is 94%
- Designs are reviewed to identify any potential changes to use and hence save money, for example reduction in pile size at site in Wishaw which reduced the amount of material extracted and saved money on the construction
- Strong community involvement which have included building a bug hotel at Silverburn, refurbishing a charity shop, involvement of local schools in health and safety awareness on construction sites
Some examples of social benefits that the judges were particularly impressed with include:
- Community liaison officers are employed at sites to look at how information can be passed to the community and also how the company can get involved in the area
- Employment opportunities created for construction projects – employing locally were possible
- Company provide support to charities globally – working with habitat for humanity building project to construct homes for families in Romania
- Staff have been involved in numerous charity projects e.g. volunteering at Silverburn to build a bug hotel, work to a woman’s aid shelter; refurbish Mary’s Meals charity shop, – labour and materials provided by GRAHAM as part of community support
- Donation of plant boxes to local schools
- Involvement of local schools in Safety Sam project where each school had to develop posters for a particular site safety
GRAHAM Construction, who have a network of regional offices in Scotland, is a privately owned company with a primary focus on constructing and maintaining infrastructure. They make the most efficient use of energy, reducing waste, recycling materials, using materials from sustainable sources, keeping pollutants, noise and dust to a minimum, and the use of environmentally friendly materials in the design of energy efficient buildings.
The VIBES Management Award recognises businesses whose management systems deliver continuous improvement in environmental performance. The category is aimed at businesses that are taking a holistic approach to environmental improvement and can demonstrate the associated economic and social benefits that have been achieved. GRAHAM Construction is to be commended for their approach to environmental improvements and the recognition that this is integral to their business model from the design stage through to construction. The judges considered that this was an exemplar in the construction industry and the commendation award for GRAHAM Construction is in recognition of this.
GRAHAM Construction is a company committed to reducing the effects of its site works. A dedicated environmental manager is employed, whose responsibility it is to ensure that environmental best practice is implemented at each site. All sites, regardless of their size, have an Environmental plan and site waste management plan.
The Judges were impressed with the level of information on GRAHAM Construction’s Environmental Policy and how this fits with the overall objective of the company. Policies are reviewed annually and are made available on the company website and also at the site project level. Environmental data is displayed on notice boards at the entrance to the working area for each site.
The company monitors their environmental improvement on a company and a site basis and has seen impressive improvements with their overall diversion of waste from landfill, which has increased from 77% in 2009/2010 to 94% in 2013/2014.
The company are operating a greener fleet software package that monitors fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, mileage and speed. Around 64 vehicles have trackers fitted and they have experienced a significant reduction in fuel use and associated economic benefit over past 2 years.
The judges were impressed with GRAHAM Construction’s approach to social benefit. There were many examples provided of community involvement. The company ethos is that their work with communities and charities provide benefits to the businesses and also makes the job more enjoyable for staff.
The judges were impressed with the company’s involvement in sharing ideas with the wider business audience – working with Resource Efficient Scotland (RES) to support workshops and providing case studies for RES and NetRegs. They have signed up to the Resource Efficiency Pledge supported by Resource Efficient Scotland.