Sustainability Strategy
Building our future
Introduction | Sustainability Strategy
I am excited to be able to introduce ‘Act’, Tarmac’s sustainability strategy. The world is changing at an incredible rate, bringing a host of challenges for society and our business. A growing population, a climate emergency, energy security, pressure on resources, urban development and social considerations will transform what we build in the future, what we build it with, how we build it and how these assets will be used. The challenges facing society, the pivotal role of the construction sector and the need to act are increasingly understood.
As a leader in the UK construction sector, Tarmac recognises the important role we have in enabling the transition to a sustainable, resilient built environment, the benefits this will bring to society and the opportunities for our business. Our previous sustainability strategies have driven significant improvement through ambitious targets and actions and helped us to understand where we can have the greatest impact in the future. Our sustainability strategy builds on past achievements and is called ‘Act’, because I firmly believe that we all need to act now to change our future. Our wider business purpose is encapsulated by the phrase ‘building our future’. This means helping to build the homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces and infrastructure which we all rely on, but doing this in a way that creates sustainable communities, great places to live and work, that make lives better and enables prosperity. Building our future is also about helping people to thrive, building the talent and careers of our people and communities, and helping them all to realise their potential.
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Achieving our strategy will be challenging and will need commitment, collaboration and, above all, action from all our employees, contractors, suppliers, customers and communities. I recognise that to continue be a successful business, we need to be a sustainable business, ever evolving to meet the challenges ahead and I look forward to keeping you informed of our progress.
Our purpose underpins our sustainability strategy which identifies our priorities for action over the next ten years and beyond. It is founded on three key themes: People, Planet and Solutions, against which we have set challenging commitments and goals and put strong processes and actions in place to achieve them. The strategy is based on a whole life, whole value chain, collaborative approach, embedding sustainability in all that we do, from the goods that we purchase, our operations and transport, the performance of our products in use and their reuse and recycling at the end of life. To support the delivery of our strategy, we will continue to be guided by our External Sustainability Panel, who provide expert opinion and challenge. I have also established an executive led, sustainability steering group, to ensure that our commitments and goals continue to be embedded in our business plan and in the day-to-day decisions we make.
Peter Buckley Senior Vice President Tarmac
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Contents | Sustainability Strategy
Contents Introduction About Our Business External Sustainability Panel Our Strategy Purpose
3 6 7 9 11
People
15
Safety & Wellbeing
17
Our People
19
Communities
21
Planet
23
Climate Change
25
Environmental Stewardship
27
Circular Economy
29
Solutions
31
Responsible Supply Chain
33
Sustainable Construction
35
Delivery Strategy Materiality
37 39
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About our business | Sustainability Strategy
About our business
1,720
fleet vehicles
Tarmac, a CRH company, is the UK’s leading sustainable building products, construction services and solutions business. Our innovative products, services and solutions help to deliver the infrastructure needed to grow the economy today and create a more sustainable built environment to support the future prosperity of the UK economy. We employ about 7,500 people at more than 350 operational locations across the UK, supplying local and nationally important infrastructure projects with a range of essential construction products including aggregates, asphalt, cement, lime, concrete and building products including mortars, screeds, blocks and decorative aggregates. We are also the UK’s leading provider of road construction and maintenance services and provide mineral products for other essential processes like drinking water, steel and pharmaceuticals. With thousands of customers and hundreds of communities, our business purpose ‘building our future’ defines how we will grow in a way that’s good for people and the environment. We are proud of what we have achieved to date, but there is much more to be done.
Leading materials capability
train sets
51
Recycling/RAP plants
3
7,500 people
within our organisation
Cement plants
10
Marine wharves
2
Lime plants
National
Contracting and Highways Services
93
Quarries
45
Building products sites
4
Marine dredgers
Materials
Offsite manufacturing Building products Aggregates Readymix Pre-cast Cement Asphalt Lime
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+30
97
Readymix plants
17
Contracting depots
65
Asphalt plants
External Sustainability Panel | Sustainability Strategy
External sustainability panel Tarmac has a longstanding External Sustainability Panel to advise and challenge the business on its sustainability strategy and performance. Panel members provide expert knowledge spanning the wide range of sustainability issues that are most important to Tarmac and its stakeholders.
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Our Sustainability Strategy | Sustainability Strategy
Our sustainability strategy
This strategy, launched in 2021, sets out the third phase of our sustainability journey, covering the next 10 years and beyond. It builds on the significant progress we have made to date and our recognition of the challenges ahead. Our strategy is founded on whole life thinking and pushing the boundaries to develop innovative solutions, which help our customers create sustainable buildings and infrastructure.
Sustainability is about securing long-term success for our business, our customers and communities by continually improving environmental, social and economic performance throughout the whole lifecycle of our products, services and solutions.
To achieve this, we are focussed on continuously improving the sustainability performance of our business, products and services throughout their life-cycle, including the goods we purchase, our operations and logistics, how our products perform in-use and how they can be reused at the end of their current life.
Our strategy aims to ensure that Tarmac continues to remain well positioned to meet sustainability challenges now and in the future and support our customers and communities to do the same.
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Purpose People
Be a great place to work
By understanding the environmental, social and economic performance of our business at each stage of the life-cycle, we can understand and take action to reduce adverse impacts, and to maximise the many positive sustainability benefits that our business and products bring.
Planet
Enhance the environment for future generations
Collaborative action is needed right across our value chain and everyone has a role to play. We have called our new strategy ‘Act’ because we all need to act now to change our future.
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Solutions
Provide solutions to create a healthy, sustainable built environment
Our ambitious sustainability strategy builds on our previous achievements, prioritises the issues that are most important to our business and our stakeholders and defines long-term commitments and goals under three key themes; People, Planet and Solutions.
Purpose | Sustainability Strategy
Purpose
“Purpose sets out the foundations of our business; what we depend on, how we work and the value we create to support the world and the challenges it faces. It provides the fundamental building blocks that enable us to act on our goals and make progress towards our long-term commitments.”
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Purpose | Sustainability Strategy
Purpose Our Purpose is core to the success of our business. It is vital to ensuring we grow and improve our business in a sustainable and responsible way, through a relentless focus on performance improvement, focused growth and value creation for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We are committed to ensuring that a culture of strong governance, ethics and integrity is embedded within our business.
Our purpose is as simple as it is ambitious, we are ‘building our future’.
We are helping to build the homes, schools, hospitals and vital infrastructure on which we all rely, in way that’s good for both people and the environment.
What we depend on •
Our people
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Natural capital
•
Investment in our assets
•
Supply chain partners
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Customers
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Government policy
•
Support from communities
We are making lives better by creating prosperity, building sustainable communities and creating a great place to work.
We are helping people to thrive, building the talent, expertise and careers of our people and our communities.
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How we work
The value we create
Why it matters
•
Prioritising safety and wellbeing
•
Essential materials
•
Inclusive & diverse
•
Innovative products
Benefits to Tarmac • Licence to operate
•
Business code of conduct
•
Whole life performance
•
Financial growth
•
Responsible & ethical
•
Social value
•
Opportunities for investment
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Continuous improvement
•
Low carbon solutions
•
Shareholder returns
•
Right first time
•
Natural capital
•
Collaborative
Benefits to society • Sustainable construction solutions •
Essential buildings & infrastructure
•
Responsible community partner
•
Skills and job creation
•
Tax and government contributions
We are building pride and building the UK ...together we are ‘building our future’. 14
People | Sustainability Strategy
People
‘Keeping people safe is of paramount importance to us. We also believe that our long-term success is founded on our ability to attract and develop a talented and diverse workforce and build strong relationships with our communities.’
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Be a great place to work.
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People - Safety and Wellbeing | Sustainability Strategy
Safety and Wellbeing Objective: Enhance positive wellbeing Goals
Why is this important?
Achieve zero harm
Protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, contractors and those around us is of paramount importance for Tarmac and the impetus behind our drive to develop a zero harm culture. Our employees and contractors are our most important asset, critical for our business success. We want to build an environment where everyone feels included, supported, informed and energised to perform at their best – promoting positive wellbeing is one of the ways we can achieve this. Wellbeing is the feeling of being happy, healthy and comfortable. This can mean different things to different people, but usually involves a combination of physical, mental, social and financial elements. Each element affects the others, so it is important to promote and support each of them to enable employees to thrive.
Supports UN sustainable development goal
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Protect health and promote healthy lifestyles
Create a culture that enables positive mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing
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People - Our People | Sustainability Strategy
Our People Objective: Be an employer of choice Goals
Why is this important? Our employees underpin the long-term success of our business and our customers, so it is vital that we continue to build an inclusive business, one that attracts and retains a talented, motivated and diverse workforce. Being an employer of choice means providing a great place to work, with a culture that promotes equal opportunities for all - where everyone will always feel proud to be themselves. Employees need to feel positively engaged in our business, to understand their development and career opportunities and how they can contribute to achieving business goals. Everyone needs to be given the opportunity to realise their full potential through learning and development.
Supports UN sustainable development goal
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Build an inclusive and diverse workforce
Champion social mobility through structured work and graduate and apprenticeship opportunities
Upskill all employees to provide opportunity and meet future business needs
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People - Communities | Sustainability Strategy
Communities Objective: Make a positive difference to our local communities Goals
Why is this important? Tarmac seeks to be an integral member of our local communities. It is important that we continue to build trust and understanding through active participation, open communication and collaborative action. Conducting our operations in a considerate, responsible and responsive way is the basis for being a good neighbour. Our involvement in our communities is also key to inspiring people to consider a career in our industry. Beyond this, we can create economic and social value for our communities through employment, tax contributions, the goods and services we buy and by supporting community programmes and projects. Through our engagement, employee volunteering and donations we can continue to build stronger community relationships, supporting education and employment opportunities, and improving local environmental wellbeing.
Supports UN sustainable development goal
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Develop lasting relationships with local communities and other stakeholders
Engage and inspire the next generation of skilled employees
Create opportunities for communities to connect to nature
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Planet | Sustainability Strategy
Planet
‘Our products, services and solutions are needed to build and maintain the homes, schools, workplaces, transport and the utility services we all rely on. It is important we meet this demand in a responsible way, helping to tackle climate change, using resources efficiently and making a positive contribution through the stewardship of our sites.’
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Enhance the environment for future generations.
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Planet - Climate Action | Sustainability Strategy
Climate Action Objective: Be net zero before 2050 Why is this important?
Goals
The impact of climate change and the transition to a zero carbon society are arguably the most important challenges for our generation. The construction sector accounts for over 40% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and has a pivotal role to play. As society embarks on its journey to net zero emissions, we are fully committed to playing our part in delivering carbon neutrality along our value chains to support the UK’s net zero target. By continuing to act across the whole of our business and product life cycle, we can further design out CO2 from our supply chain, the manufacture and transport of our products, and provide whole life innovative solutions to help customers design, construct and operate more sustainable, low carbon, resilient buildings and infrastructure. We can also continue to encourage application of the inherent resilience of our products to help mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Achieving net zero will require a collaborative approach. Through our ongoing relationships we can support the development of decarbonisation solutions and an enabling policy regime which are essential to drive the transition.
Supports UN sustainable development goal
* Scope 1 and 2 emissions
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Cut CO2 by 45% per tonne of product by 2030 (from 1990)*
Be at the forefront of trialling and implementing low CO2 transport and logistics
Manage climate risk at our sites and use our land assets to deploy nature-based solutions to reduce CO2 Collaborate with policymakers, academia, industry and industrial clusters to develop net zero technologies, solutions and enabling policies
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Planet - Environmental Stewardship | Sustainability Strategy
Environmental Stewardship Objective: Achieve net positive environmental outcomes Goals
Why is this important? The natural environment is one of the UK’s most valuable assets and helps to define us as a nation. We rely on our blue and green spaces for food, water and the air we breathe. A healthy environment is vital for our mental and physical wellbeing, economic prosperity and communities.
Operate to the highest standards of environmental management and control
With over 187,000 acres of land under our stewardship and 80+ sites designated as having high biodiversity value*, we recognise our duty to manage these assets responsibly and to enable positive outcomes for our business, the community and future generations. Providing a net positive legacy by enriching biodiversity, is enshrined within our commitment to enhance the environment for future generations.
Achieve biodiversity net gain and contribute to national biodiversity and land management strategies
Build collaborative partnerships and support academic research to enhance the environment and cultural heritage
*Sites of special scientific interest (SSSI’s)
Supports UN sustainable development goal
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Planet - Circular Economy | Sustainability Strategy
Circular Economy Objective: Transition to a circular economy Why is this important?
Goals
Tarmac has an important role to play in meeting society’s need for homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces, transport infrastructure, clean water, sanitation, and clean energy, while ensuring that resources are used in the most efficient and sustainable way. Adopting the concept of the circular economy allows a focus on designing out waste from every stage of a product’s life-cycle and extending its useful life. The transition to a circular economy requires collaboration across the construction value chain, eliminating waste from our operations, recycling materials from other industries and identifying opportunities to conserve water. This collaborative approach also encompasses purposeful design to extend the life of the things built with our products through enhanced durability, designing for reuse and repurposing, and facilitating recycling into new products.
Supports UN sustainable development goal
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Zero waste to landfill by 2030
Recycle and use over 70 million tonnes of other industries waste resources in our processes and products by 2030
Reduce water consumption by 25% per tonne of product by 2030
Collaborate to enable material efficiency in project design and delivery
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Solutions | Sustainability Strategy
Solutions
‘We adopt a whole life approach to provide innovative construction products, services and solutions that support our customer’s needs and contribute positively to the development of sustainable communities and a net zero built environment.’
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Provide solutions to create a healthy, sustainable built environment.
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Solutions - Responsible Supply Chain | Sustainability Strategy
Responsible Supply Chain Objective: Responsibly procure all goods and services Why is this important?
Goals
Tarmac procures a significant amount of goods and services each year, so it’s important to ensure they are sourced, manufactured and traded legally, ethically and with careful consideration of their environmental, social and economic impacts. It is vital to fully understand and manage potential risks throughout our supply chain. This requires robust procurement policies and processes, full material transparency of the supply chain and working closely with our supply chain partners to support the delivery of our sustainability commitments. We align our procurement practices to ISO20400 Sustainable Procurement and give customers confidence in the products we sell by ensuring all of Tarmac’s products are certified as responsibly sourced.
All procured goods and services to be responsibly sourced
Collaborate with our supply chain to capture the innovation required to deliver net zero carbon
Engage our supply chain to support our wider sustainability objectives
Supports UN sustainable development goal
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Solutions - Sustainable Construction | Sustainability Strategy
Sustainable Construction Objective: Deliver low carbon, resource efficient, whole life solutions Goals
Why is this important? The products, services and tools we provide are of significant benefit to our customers and clients when it comes to designing and building more sustainably, especially when engaged early in advance of a project commencing. We are committed to delivering value to our customers and clients through application of our four ‘Ins’ model to help them take a whole life cycle approach to meeting the challenge of creating a more sustainable built environment. Early engagement and collaboration are key to creating opportunities to develop sustainable solutions to achieve this value. This approach enables us to help customers and clients develop and select the best products, services and solutions for their project. We recognise utilising technology is key to digitising and automating our processes and this will help us to deliver our sustainability commitments across our value chain. By continuing to create innovative products, services and solutions we can support the creation of efficient, low carbon buildings and infrastructure.
Supports UN sustainable development goal
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Collaborate across our value chain to promote sustainable construction
Provide industry leading guidance and solutions that optimise whole life performance
Innovate low carbon, sustainable products, services and solutions
In built
In construction
In use
In support
The performance of our business and products.
The way in which our products perform during construction.
How our products perform when they have been installed
The data, services and support we provide to help our customers build more sustainability.
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Delivering the strategy | Sustainability Strategy
Sustainability Governance model External sustainability panel
Purpose and values
Delivering the strategy
Sustainability strategy
This strategy forms an integral part of our overall business strategy and is central to the long-term success of our business. We have defined our, key priorities, commitments and goals and have put processes in place to support their delivery. We regularly review and report on our progress using internationally recognised methodologies, including the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. Everyone at Tarmac has a role to play and a responsibility to act to continuously improve the sustainable performance of our business, products and services. Our approach is to embed sustainability into everything we do and our sustainability governance hierarchy helps us to do this. Tarmac’s Executive Committee is responsible for setting and delivering the strategy, with actions and programmes delegated to Business Units and Functions. We regularly measure and report our progress and undertake audits to ensure a robust performance. We undertake a formal annual review of our strategy, working with our Sustainability Steering Group and External Sustainability Panel, to ensure its continuing appropriateness and high level of ambition.
Business unit / functions action plans
Site specific action plans / personal objectives
Monitoring and strategic review
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Advise and challenge the business.
Excom set company purpose, defines company values and behaviours. Excom / Sustainability Steering Group, confirm long term strategy. Set key priorities and goals to deliver a sustainable business. Directors / heads of department define programme and actions to be taken by their teams to deliver the strategy. Line management define programme and actions required at a local or personal level.
Line management ensure regular monitoring / review of actions to achieve sustainability goals.
Reporting performance
Quarterly /annual reporting of performance and business improvement
Internal / external audit
Regular review of performance.
Materiality | Sustainability Strategy
Health and safety (Wellbeing) Our people (Inclusion and diversity / learning and development) Governance Value creation and advocacy Sustainable construction Circular economy (resource efficiency) Site stewardship (hazardous materials/ air emissions)
Our people (Human and labour issues)
Site stewardship (Biodiversity and land use)
R TE MA
Business practices
Communities Responsible supply chain
Circular economy(Water)
TY LI IA
Circular economy (Waste and secondary materials from other industries)
TH
SH
R
E
It makes sense to focus and communicate performance on the sustainability issues that are most significant for our business and its stakeholders, the issues that have current or potential future impact and over which our business has control.
High Medium Significance to stakeholders
Materiality
Climate action
O
LD
Medium High Impact on Tarmac
Tarmac’s sustainability priorities have been identified through a materiality assessment aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. Our material issues are also considered in the context of wider impact on the value chain and how they contribute to other initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The materiality assessment aims to ensure that Tarmac has accurately and objectively identified the most important sustainability issues for the business and assessed our ability to create value for stakeholders and wider society.
Tarmac priority issues Purpose
People
Planet
Solutions
Business practices
Health and wellbeing
Climate action
Responsible supply chain
Governance and advocacy
Our people
Site stewardship
Communities
Circular economy
Sustainable construction
Value creation
In 2020, we reviewed our materiality analysis by collecting input from key decision-makers in the business, external experts, customers, and other stakeholders, including our External Sustainability Panel. Our materiality analysis, set out here, has considered sustainability issues and impacts across the life-cycle of our business, products and services and has been used to define and prioritise the commitments and goals that make up our sustainability strategy.
Supports UN sustainable development goals
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Quote from Peter | Sustainability Strategy
“Our sustainability strategy has a central role in our overall business strategy and we must act now to achieve our goals. We will showcase our progress towards these in our annual sustainability report which will highlight the key actions we have taken each year.” Peter Buckley, Senior Vice President, Tarmac
We welcome your questions and feedback on all aspects of our sustainability strategy. Please address your comments to sustainability@tarmac.com
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tarmac.com/sustainability