Scope and structure of the report

The report is built around six topics which underpin our sustainability policy and performance indicators. They are:

• Enabling sustainable construction – partnership and product development
• People and communities – zero harm in the workplace; creating sustainable communities and working with our stakeholders
• Carbon and energy - climate change and energy use
• Waste and raw materials - sustainable consumption and production
• Water and biodiversity - natural resource protection and enhancing the environment
• Quality processes and systems - management systems for continual improvement

It covers our five business lines (aggregates, asphalt, concrete, cement and supply chain) but excludes all data from the building products division, which was sold in March 2015. We have re-baselined historic data to exclude building products and allow like-for-like comparisons.

Waste, energy and water data from contracting works sites has not been included due to the difference in the type of activity carried out. The same applies to Irvine Whitlock, which is primarily involved as a contractor. We have a controlling interest in the joint venture Smiths Concrete and its active operations are included in the data.

Our 2016 report remains aligned to the UK concrete industry’s Sustainable Construction Strategy. We use 18 key performance indicators for reporting which complement the over-arching sustainability strategy of our parent company, HeidelbergCement, summarised here.

We are committed to reporting annually and the report covers the calendar year to the end of 2015. Any changes in measurement methods are indicated alongside the relevant table.

The information and data contained within this report has been verified by Lucideon CICS Ltd as reliable and providing a fair and balanced representation of the reported sustainability activities in the reporting period. The full assurance statement is here.