Our sustainability framework

Our sustainability framework also supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ('UN SDGs'). The table below illustrates our key achievements in the year against our four sustainability pillars and our progress against the metrics and targets we use to measure our performance in each area, as well as identifying the seven UN SDGs where the Group can have the biggest impact:

Planet				People
	Read more on Planet				Read more on People
Activities/KPIs	2023 performance			Activities/KPIs	2023 performance
GHG intensity	33% reduction in our scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from 2018 (our base year) using a market-based approach. Exceeding our short-term target to reduce emissions by 25% by 2025.			Gender Pay Equality	1.02 male/female normalised hourly rate ratio.
CDP global evaluation rating	Achieved CDP B rating, which is above the industry average (C). Achieved CDP supplier engagement leader with the rating of A-.			Diversity & Inclusion	9% of our workforce are female (same as FY22). Of our three grade levels below board female representation is 20%, 27% and 20% respectively. Female representation across our manufacturing departments is 2%, 8% within project delivery departments and 39% in core services.
Other industry accreditations achieved	Maintained our BES 6001 rating of "very good". Listed on the Financial Times – Europe's Climate Leaders index for the third year in a row.			Accident frequency rate	13% improvement in 2023 to 0.14 (2022: 0.16).
Green electricity usage	94% of our total purchased and consumed energy was from green electricity tariffs.			Incident frequency rate	An increase of 8% in 2023 to 1.61 (2022: 1.49).
Waste reduction target	New in 2023: Established an absolute reduction of waste tonnage (excluding steel) of 20% by 2030 against 2021/22 baseline.			Director safety visits undertaken	We have achieved 85 visits in 2023, unchanged from 2022.
Biodiversity target	In 2024 we will refine our approach to biodiversity and set Group and divisional targets.			% of colleagues paid above living wage	100% of colleagues paid at or above the Real Living Wage.
				Social value target	In 2024 we will establish a social value reporting system and set Group and divisional targets for social value delivery.

Prosperity				Principles Of Governance
	Read more on Prosperity				Read more on Principle of Governance
Activities/KPIs	2023 performance			Activities/KPIs	2023 performance
Economic value generated and distributed	£491.8m (2022: £403.6m).			Board diversity	20% (2022: 22%) of the Group's board are women.
Economic value distributed	£467.5m (2022: £382.7m).			Board tenure	7.4 years (2022: 7.1 years) average tenure of our board of directors.
Net investment ((capex – depreciation) / dividends)	Stable net investment at 10% (2022: 24%). Lower than 2022 due to several significant items being leased in the year.			Executive committee diversity	18% (2022: 18%) of the Group's executive committee are women.
Supply chain due diligence	100% (2022: 100%) of suppliers subject to annual supply chain contractor due diligence reviews.			Coverage of certified environmental management systems	Group-wide 100% accreditation to ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management) (2022: 100%) and ISO 45001:2018 (occupational health and safety) (2022:100 per cent).
New appointments	414 new employees in the year (including 27 apprentices and graduates).			Ethics training rate	91% of colleagues receiving regular ethics training (2022: 91%).
Corporation taxes paid	£3.5m (2022: £3.8m), marginally lower than 2022 due to a refund for overpaid amounts in a previous period.
Prompt payment reporting	88% (2022: 93%) of invoices paid within agreed payment terms in latest PPC reporting period for our signatory companies.