Sustainability

Sustainable development is a difficult concept to define, however one that is widely used and accepted internationally is: “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

As individuals there are many ways that we can make a contribution to sustainability in the way that we use energy & water, deal with waste, travel etc.  Advice and support is freely available from many sources, but a good starting point is the UK government website at www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/advice/index.htm

As far as Bachy Soletanche is concerned, sustainability is considered under the following principle categories:

During 2008 independent external consultants were commissioned to undertake an Initial Review of our performance throughout our UK operations with the aim of identifying baseline performance, any gaps and where improvements are needed.  This report was encouraging, as it identified many positive factors that had been adopted over the years for no other reason that they made good business sense (such as extensive use of video conferencing, saving travel both domestically and internationally).  Particular mention was made of effective Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality Management Systems as well as our commitment towards training, internal communication and general client and employee “satisfaction”, the latter as demonstrated by the low indicator generated by the “staff stability” Key Performance Indicator.

However there were also areas where recommendations for improvement were made, as a result of which a “Sustainability Working Group” has been set up, with representation right through the company, including at director level, to actively challenge the issues that were highlighted.

To reflect the above the BSL “Sustainability Policy” has been published.

Sustainability Policy

Policies