Sustainability Policy
Our policy is to proactively manage the impact of our business on the environment, society and the communities in which we operate. This document summarises our Sustainable Development policy framework, which is underpinned by individual policies, standards and targets implemented within Tarmac covering environmental, social and economic matters.
Aim
We seek to grow our business in a responsible manner, providing our shareholders with a good return on their investment while demonstrating our value to all other stakeholders with whom we engage. We aim to monitor our environmental, social and economic performance and minimise the impact of all our operations. We believe we have a positive role to play in the communities in which we work, providing local employment while building straightforward and open relationships with our neighbours and stakeholder groups. We provide them with the products and services needed to build and maintain the fabric of their communities.
Business principles
As a leader in our field we believe that we have an accountability to conduct our affairs in an open and ethical manner, to treat our employees fairly and nurture their talents, and to play an active role in supporting the many different communities in which we operate. To do this we have constructed a set of Business Principles that support our commitment to operate ethically and responsibly. We aim to operate at all times in a way that embodies our Core Values of being reliable, responsive, straightforward and understanding. Our values are not empty promises. They help us to carry out our work, day in, day out, to a consistent high standard across all our operations and guide us in our dealings with each other, our customers, communities, government and other stakeholders.
Framework
We have established a sustainability framework to work from and will continue to address the impact of our
operations from an environmental, social and economic standpoint by looking at:
how we operate as a sustainable company and the improvements we plan to make in this regards;
how our products can contribute to a sustainable built environment
Our commitments to the environment, society and the economy
In this section we have highlighted our key priorities going forward in terms of behaving in a sustainable manner.
Environment
We are working to reduce our specific energy consumption where possible, behaving responsibly and reducing our impact on the environment, both locally and globally. This is currently being supported by exploring opportunities to increasingly use secondary fuels and renewable energy resources in our operations.
We are committed to reducing potable water usage and waste sent to licensed disposal. Our business performance includes monitoring and benchmarking against these targets, looking at resource efficiency and recycling across all our businesses.
We promise to protect and promote the rich biodiversity at all our active mineral extraction sites, for this and future generations. An example of this is our commitment to implement Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPS) at all our mineral extraction sites by the end of 2007.
We undertake to achieve third party certification of our Environmental Management Systems (EMS) at all active sites to IS014001 standard by the end of 2007. We will continue to build on our proven strength in environmentally aware operating practice, restoration and biodiversity management.
Social
We are committed to improving and protecting the health and safety of our workforce and the communities around our sites, while promoting a healthy lifestyle. We will do this by building on three principles-.
Culture: zero mindset
We believe that all injuries and occupational illnesses are preventable
We are all responsible for preventing and correcting unsafe behaviour or work conditions
Learning: no repeats
All unsafe practices and incidents will be investigated to determine what happened and why
All necessary steps will be taken to prevent a recurrence
Standards: Simple, Non-Negotiable, Standards and Rules
We will adopt a common, simple, non-negotiable, standards and rules throughout Tarmac
Line management, at all levels, has responsibility for implementing and maintaining the standards and rules
We will continue to create stimulating working environments and promote personal, vocational and professional growth throughout Tarmac.
We will carry on engaging with local schools, informing them of our operations, health and safety at our sites and possible career paths within Tarmac.
We will recruit people with the requisite capabilities and potential from all parts of the diverse societies in which we operate.
We undertake to involve communities and stakeholders in our plans and engage with them at the earliest possible opportunity.
Economic
We commit to developing products and solutions in collaboration with our customers that help to reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment. We will continue to deliver products and services with a lower environmental impact across their lifecycle and be the first choice for the supply of building materials for the sustainable development of the world in which we live.
We will continue to build on a successful economic model that incorporates sustainable procurement and the responsible sourcing of materials throughout the supply chain.
We promise to operate in a straightforward open manner with our stakeholders and support community projects and initiatives.
We will work to support communities through Tarmac’s sponsorship programmes, providing significant levels of funding for national, regional and community based causes and projects which promote environmental, educational, social, health and safety benefits or improvements.
We will respect standards of good governance and operate in an ethically and responsible manner.
Summary
At Tarmac we are committed to growing the business to provide a sustainable and healthy environment for future generations through the application of our policies, standards and values, and through the targets we set ourselves in a process of continuous improvement.
