Search
X Search
Events
× Search
Log In Sign Up

Month: September 2022

The Supply Chain Sustainability School (the School) is leading the way for the UK’s built environment to drastically reduce onsite emissions of air that are harmful to human health and the planet, such that they will reach net zero by 2040 and contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals 3, 11 and 13.

The School’s Plant Group developed the Plant Commitment Charter to encapsulate and communicate this approach. Each organisation signatory pledges to work toward 4 commitments, including: measurement & reporting, engagement, training & education, and innovation.

The result: they contribute to a cleaner working environment.

12 organisations have now become Signatories: Advanté, BAM Group, Cheetham Hill Construction, Costain, EKFB, Flannery, GAP Group, Hercules Site Services, M O’Brien Group, Morgan Sindall, Select Plant Hire and Welfare Hire Nationwide.

Underpinning the Plant Commitment Charter are the Minimum Standards V2.1, refreshed and relaunched earlier this year. The Minimum Standards V1, launched in 2019, are still available to access.

Signatories to the Charter come from across the value chain and commit to improving air quality and reducing greenhouse emissions and any negative impact caused by their construction plant and equipment (CPE). Direct action on reducing tailpipe emissions can only lead to better local air quality for workers and neighbours, resulting in less impact on the global climate.

Signing the Plant Commitment Charter is free and voluntary. To find out more and become a signatory, visit this page.

 

Quotes from current Plant Charter Signatories:

Mandy Messenger, Managing Director, Advanté: “Offering sustainable solutions has been at the heart of Advanté for 25 years. The Supply Chain Sustainability School’s Plant Charter is a great way to externally, independently verify our commitment to sustainable product offerings and investment. Achieving Gold Status (with maximum points!) gives our Customers and other stakeholders peace of mind they can trust we do what we say we do.”

Gary Todd, Compliance Manager, BAM: “BAM aims to contribute to sustainable environments through our projects and the sustainable and innovative solutions we offer. BAM has a long-term ambition to become a net-zero company. We are focusing on reducing our carbon footprint and improving air quality as much as possible. Being an active partner of the Supply Chain Sustainability School and supporting their Plant Charter reinforces to our clients and wider stakeholders our commitment to lowering emissions. It also enables us to share best practice with likeminded organisations and influence our own supply chain through a collaborative approach so that we can create sustainable environments that enhance people’s lives.”

Mike Goodier, Contracts Director, Cheetham Hill Construction: “CHC are proud to be one of the signatories to the Plant Charter. We are committed to reducing emissions, ensuring our plant is continually updated with the most modern technology and ensuring our operators are trained to maximise outputs whilst minimising fuel usage. The Plant Charter helps us focus on these objectives.”

Lara Young, Group Climate Change Director, Costain: “Costain’s Climate Change Action Plan sets out the Group’s 2035 net zero target and plan to lead, at pace, the changes needed within the infrastructure industry to ensure the entire value chain achieves net zero. Having mandated since 2020 the use of telematics and set a year-on-year 20% plant idling reduction target, supporting the development and early adoption of the Supply Chain Sustainability School’s Plant Charter was an evident next step in delivering on Costain’s Climate Change Action Plan. Working in collaboration with all major plant and machinery supply chain partners has ensured a consistent and coherent approach that will deliver immediate tangible emissions reductions across the industry.“

Craig Downs, Plant Manager, EKFB: “EKFB is incredibly proud to be part of the Sustainability School’s Plant Charter Group and a Signatory. Since joining the Charter under a year ago, EKFB has achieved Silver Status, which is a momentous accomplishment. As one of HS2’s main works contractors, delivering a 50-mile stretch of the new high-speed railway, sustainability and the environment are key focuses for us all, as we collaborate and work closely with our supply chain partners to innovate and strive to reduce our carbon footprint. We are committed to making our works cleaner and greener.”

Chris Matthew, Strategic Manager, Flannery Plant Hire: “The Flannery family and board members understand and accept our collective responsibility to lower emissions across all business activities. Flannery have proudly championed the Plant Charter and through that, the aims and objectives that have evolved over these past years. In order to protect and cultivate the industry that we serve and the communities that live and work alongside us, it is essential that we continue to work together collectively to drive better standards, education and behaviours designed to deliver measurable improvements on our construction sites nationwide. Flannery looks forward to continuing this journey alongside fellow partners and associates of the Supply Chain Sustainability School.”

Mark Anderson, Managing Director, GAP Group Hire: “As one of the signatories of the Plant Charter it is refreshing to be involved in an industry group that wishes to work together to achieve lower emissions from our operations. The Plant Group sets out challenging and realistic commitments to lowering equipment emissions, which are often broad-brushed by other groups who do not have the same level of expertise in plant and not recognising the hire industries place in the circular economy.”

Gary Davidge, Plant & Fleet Manager, Hercules Site Services: “As Supply Chain Sustainability School Partners and signatories to the Plant Charter, Hercules will continue to maintain and drive forward our commitments to lowering carbon emissions throughout our fleet of plant machinery.”

Dan O’Brien, Director, M O’Brien Group: “We are delighted to sign up to the new and updated plant charter created by the Plant Group of the Supply chain sustainability school. Reducing emissions is the right thing for our planet, cost saving and people health, the Plant Charter is a great vehicle for demonstrating this. But also, a great platform for likeminded companies to share their ideas and findings from sustainability activities in a collaborative way.”

Graham Edgell, Group Director of Procurement and Sustainability, Morgan Sindall: “The Plant Charter provides the industry with a mark in the sand that continues to stimulate positive action, driving improved performance whilst speeding up innovation. We all understand the need to raise the bar lifting the minimum standards for the betterment of not only our sector but the wider environment”

Alex Warrington, Business Unit Leader, Select Plant Hire: “As a signatory to the Plant Charter, we have a moral responsibility to future generations, following the declaration of a climate emergency, to take the necessary steps to immediately reduce on-site emissions and improve air quality. The framework SCSS provides gives Select great direction in driving continuous improvement and leading the way in sustainable plant innovations. This demonstrates to our clients that in achieving gold status, we are committed to lowering emissions, which have been defined by the charter, to help meet key strategic goals in their journey towards Net Zero.”

Andy Grayshon, Commercial Director, Welfare Hire Nationwide: “As a specialist supplier in ECO mobile welfare & lighting, we are delighted to align with the Supply Chain Sustainability School in an area we are passionate about. Welfare Hire have continually invested in high-level innovation with a track record in providing industry-first eco products and solutions. We will continue to champion this to help partners accelerate delivery of their carbon and wider ESG goals and welcome the opportunity to support the plant charter.”

The full report can be found here.

 

27th September, London, UK – The Supply Chain Sustainability School, a multi-award-winning initiative which represents a common approach to addressing sustainability within supply chains, has today released its Fairness, Inclusion & Respect (FIR) Annual Culture Report 2022.

The School surveyed over 1,000 of its members across the country, to get their feedback on the School’s Fairness, Inclusion & Respect Programme and how the FIR agenda is progressing within the built environment.

David O’Neil, Supply Chain Director, Commercial and Procurement at National Highways, said: “At National Highways we recognise that developing a diverse and inclusive supply chain (and workforce) is critical in meeting the needs and expectations of road users and communities. We see the FIR Programme, and our growing partnership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School, as an essential part of developing diverse capability across our sector.”

The report also offered insights on how the School has continued to positively impact organisations and supply chains, reinforcing the School’s mission to be the world-class collaboration enabling a sustainable and fair built environment.

With over fifty thousand registered users, the School provides free practical learning and support for the UK built environment, through training, networking, e-learning modules and online resources. Specifically, the FIR resources and the FIR Growth Assessment are becoming increasingly popular as FIR sits higher on the agenda for many organisations in the industry.

Members of the School anonymously stated that the FIR Programme offered “the confidence to tackle issues head on” , “increased efficiency and productivity” and created a “positive breeding ground for strong culture resulting in a much healthier and beneficial workplace for [our] colleagues.” One School member also highlighted the FIR Programme continues to “increase the level of diversity within the workplace and assist in recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce.”

Organisations are becoming more conscious of FIR and its benefits to people, profit and enabling a sustainable business model. The School has been identified as a powerful tool to help organisations embed sustainability into their business practices, with 83% of survey respondents confirming that their company leaders are now better equip to understand Fairness, Inclusion and Respect and can better articulate the benefits. Furthermore, 79% of respondents confirmed their behaviours and attitudes towards teammates have improved due to FIR training. The FIR programme has also been identified as key to supporting businesses with retaining talent (68%) and recruiting a more diverse team (72%).

Lucie Wright, Head of Strategy (Careers and Pipeline) at CITB, said: “CITB’s evaluation team have produced a thorough report and it is great to see the evidence that FIR training is having a positive impact across construction. Nearly 80% of companies have reported improved behaviours as a result of the knowledge gained from the training, and that, in turn creates a happier working environment which will mean improved staff retention and greater opportunity to attract new talent into the industry. This is particularly important at a time when construction faces a large skills gap. The survey also helps us understand where support is needed and helps CITB improve our offer to industry and to support FIR to become embedded throughout.”

The quality of training remains extremely high this year, with an average of 90% of respondents rated the workshops and materials as “excellent” or “good”. There was also a strong impact on individuals, as demonstrated by the 87% of respondents who felt they were empowered to deal with FIR issues more effectively due to engaging with the FIR Programme. 82% of members also felt they had the confidence to challenge poor behaviours in the workplace.

Paul Aldridge, Sustainability Director at WJ Group, said: “This report with greater participation than ever, brings hope, demonstrating that we are breaking down the barriers to an inclusive industry but yet, sets us challenges. Listening and measuring the thoughts, concerns, hopes and ambitions of our colleagues helps us understand better where we can and must improve to become truly inclusive. We know the benefits of fairness, inclusion and respect, increased: employee and customer satisfaction; creativity and innovation; attraction of the broadest talent; profitability and business development; community value. FIR helps us nurture our people and achieve great results.”

The School is part-funded by CITB and industry Partners, with the direction of the School being led by over 182 Partners – working in collaboration, they share knowledge and free resources to inspire the UK built environment to drive positive change.

 

We had the pleasure of interviewing Luke Coggon, from Equans Fabricom, for National Inclusion Week 2022

Welcome, Luke! Tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m 32 years old, live in Doncaster, South Yorkshire and have a physical condition called Arthrogryposis, which I have had since birth and will have it for the rest of my life. It primarily affects the joints, muscles, and tendons in my arms, and I have a much smaller jaw than normal. Over the years, I have had seven surgical operations. I do not know if I will choose to undergo or require any further operations in the future, only time will tell. I enjoy spending time with friends and family, socialising and playing or refereeing football. I have recently become an FA qualified football referee this summer.

It is now 11 years since I began working in the Construction and Petrochemical Industry, the first 7 years of my career I was based full-time as a Contractor on P66 Humber Refinery in the Yorkshire and Humber Region. From 2019, I worked on the neighbouring Lindsey Oil Refinery and other sites in the UK for my previous employer including Bardon Hill Quarry, Tronox and CF Fertiliser sites at Billingham and Ince. I currently work as HSE Advisor/Lifting Appointed Person for Equans Fabricom and cover sites across the UK, predominantly in the Yorkshire and Humber and North East regions. I have been with Equans Fabricom since November 2020. At the beginning of the Coronavirus Pandemic, I was unfortunately made redundant from my previous employer, for a few months from August to October 2020 I had a brief stint working at Amazon as Safety Coordinator, until an opportunity to get back into the industry presented itself.

Since 2019, I have done a significant amount of work around Mental Health Awareness in the Industry, developing my own ‘Thinking Differently Mental Health’ presentation, where I speak about my own personal experiences of mental health growing up with a physical disability and raising mental health awareness in the industry as a whole. I have delivered this across the UK at various sites, offices, and institutions. Just this month, I delivered it to the UAE Branch of the IIRSM (International Institute of Risk and Safety Management) to over 100 people globally online, which was really exciting! I am extremely passionate and driven to improve disability awareness across the whole industry and I am currently working on developing my own Disability Awareness, which I intend on rolling out internally and across the Industry in 2023.

We would love to understand your journey within the industry, as someone with a physical disability? 

When I first started in the Industry, I had very little knowledge of the industry, no industry specific qualifications, I remember my first morning arriving at the P66 Humber Refinery as if it were yesterday. I pulled into the Newton Building car park, in preparation for my induction and a multitude of thoughts and emotions were racing through my head, as I headed into the induction. After the induction, we headed to the gatehouse to collect our site passes and met our site representatives. It was here when the magnitude and size of the refinery hit me, I was awestruck!

During the very early days of my career, I kept second guessing and doubting myself, wondering how I was going to cope in the industry with a physical disability. At this point, my self-confidence was nowhere near the level it is at now. For the first couple of months of my career, I aided the local mechanical workshop management team, carrying out general admin duties and learning about the industry, whilst gaining invaluable knowledge and insights. I steadily built my self-confidence and belief in my abilities and after this period I moved back to Humber Refinery to become part of the site team for the next seven years.

Over the course of these 11 years, my self-confidence, self-esteem, drive, determination, and ambition increased exponentially. I have learnt a vast array of skills including Safety, QA, controlling lifting operations, behavioural safety, AutoCAD, SAP, and many others. I have also got to know a great amount of work colleagues, who I can say will be friends for life.

I have achieved a couple of professional achievements. In 2018, I was awarded a special Recognition Award for my outstanding commitment to safety by P66 during a major site project. I became the first Mental Health First Aider in the business for my previous employer, which led to me being invited to be a key part of a business wide steering group, developing, and delivering a Mental health Strategy across the business, in partnership with the mental health in construction charity ‘Mates in Mind’. At the end of 2019, I was given an amazing opportunity by P66 to put together a presentation about my own personal experiences with mental health and my knowledge about mental health in construction. I delivered this to over 300 people on the refinery during safety week. Following on from this, I delivered my presentation at various sites and offices around the country. The feedback and positive response I had, has been amazing. Most recently with Equans Fabricom, I am playing a leading role within the HSE team to develop and drive a behavioural based safety programme ‘Challenge the Norm’ and I am also playing a key role in helping to develop and drive their Mental Health Strategy, as well as covering safety across multiple sites in the UK.

In my current role as a safety professional, my physical condition doesn’t hold me back although there are certain things that I am unable to do, such as climbing ladders on sites etc. However, I ensured my employer was aware of that before I started and they were very accommodating, also all of our clients are aware and fully understand also. Due to my hands being how they are, I am unable to lace up boots, so one very simple yet extremely effective adjustment my employer made for me, was to purchase safety that are fully compliant and conform to the correct standards but have zips on the side, so I don’t have to worry about laces at all.

I know I still have a long way to go in my Journey and I will face various challenges as I progress, however I am really looking forward to it, I am pushing myself in a professional capacity as much as I can and who knows where it will take me!

From your experience, what final words of advice do you have for the industry?

As someone who has grown up with a physical disability from birth, I have had to adapt and overcome different situations all my life, this is a key learned attribute for a lot of people with any type of disability, whether they are born with it or acquire a disability through an event at a later age. This skill enables a lot of people with disabilities to be assets and crucial employees in any organisation, especially if there’s a business change or the need to adapt quickly.

I have also read and reviewed a recent report by the CITB, stating that from now until 2026, there is going to be a very significant growth period in the industry which will require organisations and federations across all spectrums of the industry to attract, retain and develop new talent to keep up with demand. From personal research I’ve done, there are very many people with disabilities that would be assets and potential industry leaders, but they don’t feel that there are opportunities out there for them. I would advise that employers and business leaders look at the ‘Disability Confident’ programme, which is a government run scheme which shows potential disabled candidates, that organisations are a disability proactive employer. There are also numerous resources and organisations including, ‘Business Disability Forum’ and ‘Scope’ to name a few.

I also fully intend on becoming a FIR Ambassador to help push and drive disability awareness across the whole industry. I highly encourage everyone to take a look at the FIR Toolkit, which offers free resources available to support the industry in becoming a better place for all.