Balfour Beatty has won the Business Green Leaders Award for “Sustainability Team of the Year” based on its worldwide Sustainable Working Group’s (SWG) success in driving change across the business through:
- A comprehensive employee engagement campaign to generate employee support
- Winning work through sustainability
- Responsible procurement
- Integrating sustainability into its leadership framework
- Sharing its knowledge externally and influencing the market to select more sustainable outcomes
- Hands-on practical support for its businesses
The team has achieved the following results by adopting this approach. A 45% reduction in waste to landfill, procuring 34% of its UK major materials and 66% of its global timber from recognised responsible sourcing schemes, delivering £2.5bn of sustainable infrastructure in 2011 (2010: £2.2bn) and entering new markets in the green economy - securing 40% of the UK’s off-shore wind transmission assets and £1.3bn of new municipal energy from waste plants.
The SWG is led by Mike Peasland, Divisional CEO and includes senior managers from across the international Group. Balfour Beatty’s approach is applicable to any business, comprising a mix of targeted programmes and practical hands-on support emphasising how all employees and key functions can help to drive the sustainability agenda.
The sustainability focus of the Worldwide Balfour Beatty Group has been transformed through the SWG’s leadership. Change has been delivered at pace over the last 12 months, embedding sustainability across the organisation. Hands-on support and sheer hard work have delivered real reductions in environmental impacts and unlocked new growth opportunities in the green economy.
“This is a prestigious award and external recognition of the efforts of SWG reaffirms that we are embedding sustainability across our operations successfully. Through the work of the SWG we have been able to engage with all parts of the business and bring about tangible improvements.” Mike Peasland, Divisional CEO.
Media enquiries:
Rebecca Salt
Balfour Beatty plc
Tel +44 (0)20 7216 6865
Notes to Editors:
1. Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a world-class infrastructure group with capabilities in professional services, construction services, support services and infrastructure investments.
We work in partnership with our customers principally in the UK, continental Europe, the US, South-East Asia, Australia and the Middle East, who value the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise.
Key infrastructure markets include transportation (roads, rail and airports); social infrastructure (education, specialist healthcare, and various types of accommodation); utilities (water, gas and power transmission and generation) and commercial (offices, leisure and retail).
The Group delivers services essential to the development, creation and care of these infrastructure assets including project design, financing and management, engineering and construction, and facilities management services.
Balfour Beatty employs 50,000 people around the world.
