Social Value and Environmental Responsibility

Statistically, the construction and operation of buildings account for around 40% of man-made global carbon emissions

While the industry is beginning to recognise that action needs taking to reduce its carbon footprint, some organisations are leading the way in taking positive action.

At GIND UK, we have pledged to take our place amongst the most ambitious organisations, committing to becoming a Net Zero Carbon business by 2026. This is a key part of our business model.

We aim to do everything in our power to minimise our carbon footprint and have made it our mission to be open and transparent about our journey. We believe that if every organisations takes this approach, we will ultimately make a difference on a global scale.

The following sections give a very brief overview of our approach to being socially and environmentally responsible and accountable for our actions.

Social Value

Along with environmental responsibility, we understand that sustainability also means having a truly diverse workforce, recruiting our people based on talent alone.

We are fully aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development /Goals. The work we do is part of the fabric of our cities and this puts us at the heart of a multitude of different communities. We are committed to being a responsible member of these communities.

We are blind to ethnicity, race, colour or sex. 20% of GIND UK’s staff is female and two thirds of our management team is also female. Half of our people were born outside the UK.

Our work is mainly performed at height and carries an inherent risk; we are committed to keeping everyone who comes into contact with our work completely safe by upholding the strictest standards of safety.

Carbon Reduction

Carbon emissions are undoubtedly the single biggest contributer to global warming. As a business, we are fully engaged with our clients to jointly achieve carbon reductions including implementing the NABERS UK – Design for Performance principles within our business by 2023. We have been assessed by BRE and are currently being reviewed and audited by Lloyds Register to achieve this target as well as improving our overall business performance.

Another way in which we reduce our carbon footprint is by taking steps to avoid the necessity of maintenance. There are high economic and environmental costs associated with the repeated maintenance painting of steel structures. These burdens can be significantly reduced by an initial investment in long-term protection.

Galvanizing’s ability to optimise the durability of steel structures and components has important environmental, economic and social advantages. Whether it is by reducing maintenance operations or avoiding the premature replacement of steel products, galvanizing will reduce the embodied carbon of construction.

Environment

As a business, we ensure we always buy responsibly as a way of actively protecting the environment and creating sustainable solutions for our customers. It is universally accepted that climate change is the biggest challenge to humanity and the planet and we believe it is crucial for all our people to understand our environmental impact. Our Sustainability Management measures us against both our customers’ and our own standards.