Corporate social responsibility
Health and safety is, by the very nature of our business, the top priority in all our operations.
Corporate social responsibility issues are crucial to our business as society expects us, and rightly so, to take a 'bigger picture' view of the world in which we operate. However, this is nothing particularly new to Henry Boot which has had a long history of commitment in this regard before it became formally recognised. On the other hand, expectations and indeed demands continue to increase and the CSR ethos is now, more than ever, embedded in all aspects of our operations in order to meet these challenges.
HEALTH AND SAFETY: ALWAYS THE TOP PRIORITY
Health and safety is, by the very nature of our business, the top priority in all our operations. The following is the Henry Boot Health and Safety Policy Statement, the key document setting out our health and safety philosophy and responsibilities:
Henry Boot PLC is committed to achieving excellence in safety, health and welfare management and recognises the key role this excellence plays in the successful and cost effective management of the business. It is the policy to maintain a healthy and safe working environment for all our employees and any persons who may be affected by our assets and undertakings.
The principles of safety management throughout the Group of companies are based upon the identification of the inherent risks associated with our activities and the application of sensible and practical control measures that eliminate or reduce risk to an acceptable level.
To achieve the objectives of this policy Henry Boot PLC and its subsidiary companies are required to:
- implement and maintain management systems that ensure the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of health and safety measures;
- assess and manage the risks to the health and safety of our people and any others that may be affected by our undertakings;
- promote best working practices and standards of behaviour, which minimise the risk of injury and occupational ill health;
- set performance targets to achieve continuous improvement above and beyond statutory requirements relating to health and safety;
- identify individual responsibilities;
- provide the necessary resources to effectively manage health and safety; and
- identify training needs and provide health and safety training to industry and nationally recognised standards.
In order to assist the achievement of these objectives, all employees are required to be aware and fulfil their responsibilities in maintaining a healthy and safe working environment.
The Group Safety Department will independently monitor compliance with this policy and audit activities against the documented procedures.
The Group Safety Manager will continuously review the policy and update it accordingly to reflect best practice, changes in legislation and new knowledge, such that it remains at its most effective.
We continue to have a long-standing and well respected department purely dedicated to health and safety, headed by a fully qualified and experienced health and safety manager that is active in:
- advising on health and safety issues and policy;
- monitoring new legislation and ensuring it is properly disseminated and fully understood;
- compiling and updating the Group Safety Manual and associated documentation;
- inspecting and auditing the safety of building sites, offices, premises, physical assets and working practices;
- compiling statistics associated with health and safety matters and benchmarking them against recognised comparators;
- providing comprehensive health and safety training to all employees and ensuring that all training and knowledge is duly refreshed;
- making health and safety a separate top-of-the-agenda item for all Company Board meetings and management meetings and reported upon by the Director of the Company expressly responsible for health and safety matters; and
- striving for continuous improvement in health and safety performance. Our commitment to health and safety contributes to the success and efficiency of every project and activity which, in turn, contributes to client and customer satisfaction and repeat business.
During the year, Henry Boot Construction (UK) Limited achieved certification to the internationally recognised Health & Safety Management Standard BS OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health & Safety Assessment Series). This certification follows an intense regime of audits across all the Company's sites and premises. The certification has been provided by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) which is accredited by The United Kingdom Accreditation Service, a Government recognised body. Further to obtaining initial approval, six-monthly surveillance visits are carried out by LRQA to check on continuous improvement and effectiveness of Company systems. Approval to BS OHSAS 18001 demonstrates the Company's commitment to providing a healthy and safe working environment for all those affected by its activities and shows how the Company has raised the bar for health and safety expectations throughout its operations.
One of the measures of the success of our management system is the result we achieve in our reportable accident and frequency rates. The result for 2009 shows an improvement over the previous period and a year-on-year improvement over the last five years. The Company's accident record over the last five years is set out below:
| |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
| Reportable accidents |
7 |
6 |
9 |
12 |
14 |
| Number of fatal injury incidents |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Accident frequency rate (AFR) per 100,000 hours worked (including subcontractors) |
0.71 |
0.68 |
0.67 |
0.61 |
0.50 |
| Number of dangerous occurrence incidents |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Number of prohibition notices by Health & Safety Executive |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Number of improvement notices by Health & Safety Executive |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Accreditation with the Contractors Health & Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS) is applied for annually, based on Company policy and procedures along with documentary evidence. The initial application was commented on in writing by the CHAS Scheme Manager as follows: "The application and information provided was to the highest standard and is amongst the best I have had to undertake in some years".
In October 2009, Henry Boot Construction (UK) Limited won the prestigious 'Health & Safety Award' at the annual Chartered Institute of Building South Yorkshire awards ceremony.
To further demonstrate its commitment to healthy and safe working arrangements, it has also signed the Health and Safety Executive's 'Be part of the solution' pledge to support the HSE's new strategy whereby organisations and individuals:
- agree to play their part in reducing the numbers of work-related deaths, injuries and ill-health in Great Britain;
- call on employers to put health and safety at the heart of what they do and to take a common-sense approach to health and safety;
- commit to debunking myths around health and safety that trivialise the impact of injuries, ill health and deaths on individuals and their families;
- recognise the importance of health and safety in difficult economic times and the dangers of complacency; and
- pledge to work with the Health and Safety Executive and its partners to 'Be part of the solution'.
OUR EMPLOYEES: OUR CRUCIAL RESOURCE
We readily acknowledge that 2009 has been a particularly challenging year for our employees as, at times, we have had to adjust our activities to the somewhat uncomfortable realities of the economic environment in which we have found ourselves. As our crucial resource, our employees have shown great resilience and we are constantly mindful of the need to provide them with the best facilities to enable them to be motivated and to achieve their personal development goals.
In the year under review:
- we employed 512 people at 31 December 2009, a 20% decrease on 31 December 2008;
- we recruited 38 people in the year;
- employee turnover equated to 26.1%. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the 2009 turnover rate for the construction sector was 17.8%;
- 8.2% of our employees work part time, compared to 7.2% in 2008;
- 19.3% of our employees were female, higher than the 17.5% reported in 2008;
- 2.0% declared that they had a disability, against 1.1% for 2008;
- 2.0% stated that they were from an ethnic minority, slightly higher than the 1.7% declared in 2008; and
- the average length of service with the Group is nine years and 48.8% of our employees have more than five years' service.
As ever, investing in our people is crucial to our ability to deliver our objectives and our employee learning and development programme in 2009 showed that:
- our 512 employees spent 810 days on formal, off the job training, equivalent to 1.58 days (2008: 1.32 days) per full-time-equivalent employee, in addition to the extensive on the job learning opportunities and coaching that is provided in the normal course of work;
- we spent an average of £352 per employee on employee training and development, substantially higher than the 2008 spend per employee of £289;
- 22 (4%) of our employees were sponsored to study professional qualifications; and
- having signed the Government's 'Skills Pledge' in 2008 which commits us to encouraging and supporting all employees to achieve at least a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at Level 2, a total of 57 employees successfully completed the following NVQs:
- 36 in NVQ Level 2 Carpentry & Joinery, Driving Goods Vehicles, Plastering, Wall & Floor Tiling;
- 18 in NVQ Level 3 Business, Customer Service, Site Supervision;
- 2 in NVQ Level 4 Construction Contracting, Site Management; and
- 1 in NVQ Level 5 Construction Management.
During 2009, all employees within the Group were once again invited to participate in an employee survey as part of the 'Best Places to Work in Construction 2009' competition which the Group had decided to enter for the second time. In the event, Hallam Land Management Limited and Henry Boot Developments Limited were short-listed for an award for the second year running and Henry Boot Construction (UK) Limited was short-listed for an award for the first year. Such a process is an excellent opportunity to gain a valuable insight into the perception of our employees in working for the Group.
It is pleasing to report that Henry Boot PLC was successfully re-accredited with the Investors in People Standard at the end of 2009.
Key elements of our employment policies include:
- to employ a workforce that reflects the diversity of our society;
- to provide equal opportunities for all employees, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, disability, nationality, sexual orientation and belief;
- to ensure that in the event of an existing employee becoming disabled every effort is made to continue their employment and that appropriate training is provided; and
- to recognise that effective employee communication and consultation are essential in achieving our business objectives. In this connection, information on the progress and activities of the Company and the external financial and economic factors affecting it, both from sources in the public domain and those published internally, are made readily available to employees in a variety of ways.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: MAINTAINING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS
Henry Boot is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance and details of its policies and its adherence to 'The UK Corporate Governance Code' issued by the Financial Reporting Council are set out in the Corporate Governance Statement. We acknowledge that this topic is particularly relevant in a year in which UK boardrooms have been subject to intense scrutiny.
CHARITY WORK AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT
Our Give-As-You-Earn Scheme is one of the cornerstones of the Company's charitable giving activities. Donations made by employees under this Scheme are matched by the Company on a £1 for £1 basis and, with employee's deductions from pay being tax free, this is an extremely effective way of supporting the chosen charities of our workforce. During the year we were rewarded with a Payroll Giving Quality Mark Silver Award for commitment to good causes and the local community, the second time we have received such an award.
Our involvement in the South Yorkshire Community Foundation (SYCF) continues and the specific Henry Boot Fund we have set up within the Foundation continues to provide much needed financial support for grass root community projects where relatively small amounts can make a real difference. Organisations supported in this way in 2009 included The Ethel Trust and The Friends of Chapeltown and High Green Parks. Our £10,000 investment in the Citylife New Sheffield Employment Bond made some years ago, in essence an interest free loan to assist deprived communities in Sheffield with employment opportunities, recently matured and we decided to donate the whole of it to the Employment Bond Fund operated by SYCF.
Other organisations we supported during the year with sizeable donations included the Army Cadet Force Outreach, a youth and community project to help socially disengaged young people, the Cutlers Hall Preservation Trust, the recently established Rotherham branch of the National Autistic Society and Chess for Derbyshire Schools. We are supportive of employees who carry out fundraising activities and made a £1,000 donation in support of the £1,300 that Eric Walker, 65, of Henry Boot Construction raised by climbing Ben Nevis in aid of BBC Radio Sheffield Kids Scanner Appeal after being inspired by the excellent care his grandson received at Sheffield Children's Hospital. Overseas, we were very happy to help provide some sponsorship for Ed Hutchinson, a Senior Project Manager with Henry Boot Developments who, for three weeks, was a volunteer site labourer on a community building project in Mandeville, Jamaica. In addition, many charity day events in which employees participate are topped up with Company donations. Our Finance Director, John Sutcliffe, has a significant involvement with The Variety Club of Great Britain in the Yorkshire Region and is supported by the Company in this regard.
We have continued our involvement with local communities as a result of the Decent Homes programmes we are undertaking in a variety of locations. For example, in Sheffield, as a contribution to Environmental Week hosted by Sheffield Homes, we took part in a tree renewal project with local school children, with new trees being planted to replace those that had come to the end of their natural life. Such a project aims to help Sheffield retain its position as one of the greenest cities in Europe. At Scawsby, near Doncaster, we helped refurbish a local community centre to match the work we were carrying out on surrounding council properties. Again in Doncaster, on the Highfields estate, hundreds of residents were treated to a very successful Company sponsored Fun Day. We were also involved with a project whereby pupils in Sheffield schools were asked to design board games on the theme of preventing youngsters from getting hurt on building sites and there were more than 100 entries to the competition which saw two schools win £1,000 each.
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES: PROTECTING THE FUTURE
Effective environmental management is an essential feature in the operations of all Henry Boot companies. Our key commitments in this regard are to:
- protect and enhance the environment at large;
- mitigate any possible adverse impact upon the environment;
- continuously review and improve our working practices to protect the environment as far as is reasonably practicable;
- comply with the requirements of environmental legislation, regulations and best practice as a minimum standard;
- set objectives and targets to achieve greater effectiveness;
- provide employees with a high standard of awareness in environmental matters; and
- promote our environmental values to consultants, advisers, suppliers and all business contacts.
During the year Henry Boot PLC was presented with a 'Significant Improver' award at The Prince's May Day Network Event, an award to companies that show an improvement of greater than 10% over the previous year's Business in the Community's Yorkshire and Humber Environment Index submission. Our score of 87.17%, which put us in the Silver category in the overall league table, made us one of only three construction companies in this category. The Prince's May Day Network is the UK's largest group of businesses committed to take action on climate change. We are a network member and have committed further pledges to reduce our environmental impact and carbon emissions.
The environmental performance of our construction activities is continually measured against Constructing Excellence Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and its 2009 KPI performance was 93%. Its target for zero pollution incidents/breaches of legislation, enforcement of legislation and best practice was achieved. Approval of its Management System to the requirements of ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management) has been maintained. We are committed to reducing waste to landfill by increasing the reuse and recycling of materials through design and best practice. To support this, we have signed up to the Waste Resource and Action Programme's (WRAP) 'Halving Waste to Landfill by 2012' commitment. For example, working with St Leger Homes under Doncaster's Decent Homes programme, waste to landfill has been reduced from 18% to 3%.
As a Group, we are involved with the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment) which is the UK's climate change and energy saving scheme. It is central to the UK's strategy for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. It has been designed to raise awareness in large organisations, especially at senior level, and encourage changes in behaviour and infrastructure.
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Brendon Keown, Group Health and Safety Manager, on one of more then 450 site safety inspections made in the year.