Our recent market perceptions survey demonstrated that Carillion is seen to be proactive on safety and environmental issues.

Hands on: An apple for energy

Our employees in Carillion Business Services (CBS) who provide facilities management services for Centrica have been recognised for their efforts to save the client over £300,000 in energy costs. At the House of Commons in November 2009, the CBS Centrica team was presented with a Green Apple award for their energy-saving programme. Carillion Account Director Mark Grundy commented, “This is a great example of true collaboration, enabling us to work with Centrica at every level to achieve our shared sustainability goals.”

Providing our customers with excellent products and services helps us to win repeat business; and partnering with them on social and environmental issues enables us jointly to meet our wider sustainability objectives. Over the last 10 years, we have focused on achieving both these aims through open dialogue and strong, long-term customer relationships; by really understanding our customers’ needs, we have the opportunity not only to meet their needs, but to exceed them.

Customer satisfaction

In order to gather candid feedback from our customers, we commission an independent organisation to conduct an annual market perceptions survey. This feedback is essential to the development of our business and we are always keen to learn how we can improve to meet or exceed our customers’ expectations. The 2009 survey showed a slight overall improvement in market perceptions of Carillion. We were seen to be strong in customer handling, safety and environmental issues. We will be addressing the areas in which perceptions were less positive, such as delivery of service, cost and administration.

Our business units also manage feedback from customers proactively throughout the year. For example, if a customer expresses dissatisfaction of any sort, we have processes in place to ensure that their concerns are addressed. Should they remain dissatisfied with our initial response, the matter is escalated to a more senior level until the issue is resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Partnering for sustainability

Carillion aims to be the sector leader in delivering sustainability, and we believe this is good for our business. Increasingly, customers are looking for suppliers with excellent sustainability credentials and this is an area where Carillion can differentiate itself from its competitors. What is more, the sustainable solutions we create for our customers often increase efficiency and reduce costs. We have continued to differentiate Carillion in this way despite the economic downturn and we believe that it has helped us to maintain our strong business performance.

Here are some examples of how we have partnered with our customers to improve sustainability performance in 2009:

• > At the Library of Birmingham, Carillion and our customer Birmingham City Council have collaborated to create enhanced employment opportunities for the local community.
• > We were selected to develop Bristol’s new Southmead Hospital, due in part to the low carbon footprint of our proposed approach.
• > We delivered the Aberystwyth Welsh Assembly Government building, one of the most energy-efficient office buildings in the UK, meeting the Assembly’s ambitious carbon reduction targets.
• > Working with the Ministry of Defence, we have significantly reduced waste at the Permanent Joint Headquarters site in Middlesex.
• > Emrill, our facilities management Joint Venture in the United Arab Emirates, regularly works in partnership with its client Deutsche Bank, to help clear litter from the desert.
• > At the London Olympics site, we are achieving outstanding waste segregation in our construction of the International Broadcast Centre, contributing to the Olympic Delivery Authority’s sustainability objectives.

The Design section describes how we build sustainability criteria into the design of our construction projects.