Wakefield-based Britcon (UK) Limited, a leading civil engineering, building and steelwork solutions contractor, has announced that the business has achieved Planet Mark carbon neutral certification.
During the period Oct 21 – Sep 22, the company has achieved a year-on-year 7.5 per cent absolute carbon reduction and a 25.8 per cent carbon reduction per employee, as part of its ongoing carbon reduction plan. This has been achieved through various initiatives such as implementing sustainable procurement policies, switch it off campaigns, a renewed approach to fleet management and targeting behavioural change to reduce unnecessary waste.
Managing director, Nick Shepherd said: "I am delighted that our business has achieved this certification status. We truly believe that this was the next positive step in our strategic business plan, which will contribute to protecting the environment and future generations.”
Group quality assurance & sustainability manager, Ross Reed said: "Achieving carbon neutral status has involved a tremendous effort by all our staff, as well as working alongside our partners to drive year-on-year progress in sustainability. This is an important milestone for Britcon and we are very proud of our achievements so far, as we move through the steps set out in our Net Zero strategy which is aligned to the Construction Playbook* to drive improved and greener delivery.”
The company, which has three offices and production plants –Wakefield, Scunthorpe and the North East, worked in line with the internationally recognised PAS 2060 specification to achieve Carbon Neutral status.
Ross adds: “As well as achieving the year-on-year carbon reduction targets, we also purchased certified carbon credits to offset the remainder of our annual carbon footprint. This involved contributing towards several renewable energy projects around the world –we believe that a global problem requires a global solution!”
Steve Malkin, founder and CEO of Planet Mark : “We are really pleased to see Britcon achieving their second year of Business Certification with Planet Mark. Despite operating in the most carbon intensive industry globally, their steadfast commitment to ongoing emissions reductions and achievement of Carbon Neutrality with us this year is worthy of commendation. Their reputation for progressive construction with a focus on future generations, partnered with their membership with Planet Mark establishes them as a noteworthy sustainability champion. Both myself and the Planet Mark team are proud to work with Britcon and hope to continue seeing such fantastic progress in the coming years!"
Planet Mark is an internationally recognised sustainability certification provider for all organisations, which acknowledges continuous progress, encouraging action and building an empowered community of like-minded individuals.
Through Planet Mark, Britcon has helped to protect an area of endangered rainforest thanks to Cool Earth; a charity working alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation. The company’s pledge through Cool Earth goes directly towards supporting the Asháninka community in Central Peru.
On a UK-level, Britcon is supporting, through Planet Mark, the Eden Project – an educational charity in Cornwall that builds relationships between people and the natural world to demonstrate the power of working together towards a better future.
As well as achieving carbon neutrality, other sustainability milestones for Britcon included launching its sustainability strategy and committing to using the BRE SmartWaste system in 2020, which helps the company to forecast, plan and minimise waste. In 2021, Britcon became the first construction contractor to sign up to the Betterworld initiative and then became a member of Planet Mark, reinforcing its objectives to reduce its impact on the planet and also that year. In 2022, Britcon embarked on a new partnership with Ecologi for making additional positive impact through tree planting, and have funded 640 trees to date. Britcon’s Ecologi page can be found here.
To continue their sustainability journey, Britcon have now also launched their new strategy, “Britcon Zero”, which will aim to drive positive change, reduce carbon emissions and move towards their long-term target of achieving net zero.
