| Strategic objective |
Action / Targets |
Progress 2005/2006 & future actions |
| To strive for continual environmental performance improvement, thereby reducing the Company’s environmental impacts. |
Design and construct more sustainable buildings in accordance with BRE Green Guide and BREEAM. |
During the reporting period all our homes were assessed against BREEAM/EcoHomes and the Green Guide, in advance of the impending Code for Sustainable Homes. 55% of our homes will achieve at least a Good or better EcoHomes’ rating. |
Assess impact of development on natural habitat against
Ecological Toolkit. |
The Ecological Toolkit continues to be used at an increasing number of our strategic projects. This helps us manage ecological risks from land acquisition, planning and delivery stages, through to land adoption. |
| Reduce site construction waste by 5% annually based on sample data. |
Waste has increased by 9%, this is disappointing given previous year’s performance, however this is still comparable with the BRE Best Practice Benchmark. |
| Monitor carbon profiling of Group's headquarters and car fleet and reduce CO² emissions by 5% annually. |
Carbon dioxide reduction strategies continue to improve our carbon footprint. During the reporting period this has resulted in a 13% decrease in emissions from our company car fleet (2005: 10%). Head Office and our Northern office performance have also seen a decrease in emissions of 9%. In addition, in 2007, we are looking to introduce a Green Travel Plan and we will continue to review our car policy and offer the choice of more efficient cars and alternative travel options. |
| Measure Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) ratings and maintain performance. |
The energy efficiency of the Group’s new homes is demonstrated to our customers by displaying Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating notices in all our homes. Our average SAP ratings show a 4% reduction on 2005 performance, however this still compares favourably with industry benchmarks. |
| Carry out Environmental Site Audits. |
To ensure that high standards are constantly maintained at all our developments we carry out monthly environmental site audits. As part of the audits, each subsidiary company’s performance is benchmarked against specific legislative and best practice environmental criteria. In 2006 100% (2005 - 100%) of our developments achieved our 80% benchmark. |
| Benchmark paper/waste recycling: improve recycling by 5% annually |
Improved working practices have lead to a significant improvement in waste paper sent for recycling from our offices to 33.8 tonnes per month (16 tonnes in 2005). |