This has been a challenging year for Carillion, facing not only the pressures of the recession but also those arising from ensuring we fully integrate the sustainability and safety performances of the Alfred McAlpine and Vanbots businesses that we acquired in 2008, while maintaining high standards in expanding areas of our business, notably our international businesses. However, our success in respect of our objective to be the industry leader on safety and sustainability, is clearly evident in achieving a Platinum ranking in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index, which was an important milestone in our 10th anniversary. Evidence of work-winning on the basis of sustainability excellence came thick and fast during the year – as well as plaudits and awards from clients in the UK and the Middle East. The challenge for the next 10 years is to stay ahead as a leader in innovation in our sector, and the senior team, led by John McDonough, is focused on that challenge.

Dame Julia Cleverdon, DCVO, CBE, Vice President of Business in the Community and Special Advisor to The Prince’s Charities

Managing our sustainability impacts

Our commitment to sustainability comes from the top. It is the first agenda item at every Board meeting.

The Board reviews our sustainability performance and internal management systems, as well as evaluating and approving proposed courses of action, such as our carbon reduction strategy and programme. Monthly reports from our sustainability team inform the Board’s decisions, as do the outputs of the committees mentioned below.

The Sustainability Advisory Committee shapes our sustainability strategy and targets, which are designed to enable Carillion to meet its objective of being the recognised leader in its sector in the delivery of sustainability. The Committee is chaired by our Chief Executive John McDonough and its membership includes senior directors from our business groups as well as two independent external advisors: Dame Julia Cleverdon, Vice President of Business in the Community and Special Advisor to The Prince’s Charities, and Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future.

The strategy developed by the Sustainability Advisory Committee and approved by the Board is implemented through the Business Leaders’ Sustainability Committee. This group meets six times a year and is chaired by Don Kenny, the Executive Board member with responsibility for sustainability. The representatives from each business group who make up the committee are tasked with identifying and overseeing the actions needed to realise the strategy. They are supported in this by our forum of sustainability managers who meet to share best practice and learn from each other’s experiences, led by Louise Perry, Head of Sustainability.

All our operations have formal health and safety management systems, with those in the UK and our Middle East North Africa (MENA) region being officially certified to the OHSAS 18001 international standard. Our UK and MENA operations also have ISO 14001 accredited environmental management systems. Carillion’s Sustainability Excellence Model and overarching Sustainability Policy are backed up by Group-wide Policies on a range of individual issues, such as responsible timber procurement.

To further embed sustainability into our day-to-day activities, our employees are trained in social and environmental issues. This includes new employees, who complete a sustainability training module as part of their induction programme. Everyone on our graduate programme also completes a sustainability challenge, for example cleaning up a nature reserve or helping to organise the Group-wide Sustainability Week. For those employees with sustainability-related responsibilities, we provide tailored training on specific issues, such as waste management.

The annual business plan produced by each of our business units includes sustainability objectives. These are translated into targets for individuals with functional responsibility, senior managers and Executive Directors. Our performance system ensures that progress against these targets is directly reflected in these individuals’ remuneration.

Sustainability issues are also addressed at operational site level, through the contract-specific risk assessments that are carried out at the tender stage for all projects. All risks identified, including those relating to sustainability issues, are monitored and managed throughout the project.

Our approach to sustainability