We take our role in society seriously, working to improve the UK’s built environment and delivering lasting change for the communities we work in.

Delivering a legacy of positive social value outcomes in the communities in which we operate is a key part of our strategy. This is the right thing to do as a responsible business and is also an increasingly important priority for our clients.

Management and compliance

Our Sustainability Policy sets out our commitment to assessing sustainability risks and opportunities, and taking appropriate steps to mitigate negative impacts and enhance positive impacts. Our Code of Conduct also explains our approach to being a good neighbour and the requirement to treat all our stakeholders with respect, courtesy and consideration.

We have a range of mechanisms for identifying and managing community impacts. Our project teams undertake a needs analysis with our clients to identify the key priorities in relation to employment, training, SMEs and wellbeing in the local area. This analysis is used to develop bespoke Social Value Plans and Employment and Skills Plans. The outcomes delivered are reported using the Thrive social value platform aligned to the IES (Impact Evaluation Standard) Our approach to community engagement is also overseen by the ESG Committee.

We also take part in the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS), which assesses sites on criteria including being considerate of local neighbourhoods and the public.

1 SLEV (Social and Local Economic Value) is a measure for the social contribution made to society, in particular to the local community, estimated using the National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, and Measures) Framework.

2 CCS changed their scoring methodology in April 2026 from absolute scores to a percentage score. The average score reported relates to the nine months to 31 March 2026. In FY27, we will report the average percentage score in line with the new methodology and define a revised target that continues to align with 
outperforming industry benchmarks

Performance

Social and Local Economic Value

Delivering a legacy of positive social value outcomes is a key part of our strategy. This is the right thing to do as a responsible business and is also increasingly important for our clients. The Procurement Act 2023, which came into effect during the year, and the updated Public Procurement Notice – PPN002 Taking account of social value in the award of central Government contracts, reinforced social value as a priority for public sector clients and confirmed the requirement that a minimum of 10% of the evaluation criteria on public procurement tenders must relate to social value outcomes.

On project sover £5m completed during the year, we delivered £527m in Social and Local Economic Value (SLEV), with 79% of projects exceeding our benchmark of 25% of project value (2025: 83%).

Considerate Constructors Scheme

The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) strives to improve the image of the construction industry and leave a positive legacy, by implementing best practice in the areas of community engagement, the environment and workforce wellbeing. CCS scores and benchmarks Construction sites on their positive impact within their locality. We maintained a high score of 44.5 (2025: 43.9) out of 50, outperforming our target and remaining above the industry average of 41.2.
Our project teams received two Gold, three Silver and 15 Bronze awards at this year’s CCS National Site Awards, reflecting our teams’ ongoing commitment to setting high standards across all areas of site operations.

We are also a member of the CCS Social Impact Group, which has been formed to help standardise social impact, increasing understanding, engagement, and communication of social value for the supply
chain and stakeholders.

Open Doors

We took part in Build UK’s Open Doors initiative again this year, with 411 students visiting 14 of our sites and offices around the country. Open Doors delivers high-impact site visits, showcasing the industry’s potential to the next generation. It gives attendees the opportunity to see how a live site operates, including how we work alongside our supply chain. Ham Baker Engineering also took part in Open Doors for the first time, with a factory tour showcasing its engineering and manufacturing processes

Volunteering and charitable donations

One of the most tangible ways in which we create a positive legacy is through our staff and supply chain volunteering their time and resources to support community projects and causes. We encourage all employees to take up to two days of paid leave to undertake voluntary activities.

During the year, our staff recorded 7,540  hours of volunteering time. As it is difficult to  capture all volunteering time, including that of  our supply chain partners, we believe the true amount is significantly higher.

To embed a volunteering culture, volunteer days are incorporated into our graduate and trainee programmes. This includes requiring our graduates to sign up to become STEM ambassadors, joining a national network of volunteers who bring real-life examples of STEM careers into schools, colleges and universities across the UK. We increased our STEM ambassador community from around 
60 colleagues to more than 100, which has also supported the growth of our Mentoring the Next Generation initiative. 

Mentoring the Next Generation

Mentoring the Next Generation is our flagship initiative designed to inspire young women to pursue careers in construction by connecting them with female mentors from across our business. Now entering its third year, the programme offers students practical guidance on developing workplace communication skills, identifying career goals, and building confidence through CV writing, interview preparation and interactive activities.

Our expansion demonstrates the programme’s success:

• Pilot phase: launched with 66 students across five schools.
• Year 2: expanded to 12 schools and 147 students.
• Year 3: scaled further with an additional six schools, bringing our total reach to 18 partner schools and circa 220 students.

By continuously integrating feedback, we are currently pursuing formal Industrial Cadets accreditation. This will provide silver standard certification for the quality of our STEM-related work experience, ensuring our impact is both measurable and industry-recognised.