Sustainable contractor of the year

Some 105,000 tonnes of waste were saved from being dumped in a landfill site last year as a result of the waste management system developed by PFI and PPP specialist Skanska Integrated Projects. This represents a staggering 83% of the total waste generated by the business. But it is not just for this feat that Skanska is our winner in this category. It also demands that 10% of all new materials it uses on a project are made from recycled goods and that all electricity on Skanska-run sites must be from renewable sources. In addition to this Skanska has used biomass boilers on its Bristol Schools for the Future scheme to cut carbon emissions to 15% less than the level required by design standards. It has even done something to keep ornithologists happy. Besides providing 50 bat-boxes at its £334m PFI project at Coventry New Hospitals (pictured), it has created a 31,000m² bird habitat.

Runners up

Bovis Lend Lease

Last September Bovis Lend Lease set up an Innovation and Performance Group whose overall goal was to help the company become the “leader in sustainable environmental practice”. It has come a long way even in this short time with recycling rates exceeding 80% and new performance measures in energy, water and vehicle movements introduced this summer. The future looks even greener for Bovis as it has appointed an innovation manager with an R&D budget of £500,000 to improve its sustainable performance.

Carillion

Carillion employees must be pretty chuffed. Instead of having to travel miles to site meetings in obscure parts of the country all they have to do now is sit back and watch TV in the comfort of their offices. Well, video conferencing really, but last year’s winner of this award has decided that this measure is one easy way to reduce polluting car journeys. Carillion has also saved £200,000 by cutting its energy use and striking a long-term supply deal, and has removed the need for 5000 tins of paint to be made by using 10-litre tins at a project in Oxford.

G&J Seddon

Family-owned Bolton contractor G&J Seddon claimed in its submission that it was not afraid to put its money where its mouth was. A bold claim but one it has backed up by building its own waste transfer station, which it says has allowed it to recycle 90% of its construction waste. The scheme has been such a hit that Seddon has gone into partnership with two local housing associations and is currently extending the “Circle” project to Liverpool, Brimingham, Stoke and Manchester with further waste recycling stations.

Willmott Dixon construction

Like G&J Seddon, Willmott Dixon is keen to be taken seriously as far as sustainability is concerned. As a result it has not only set itself the task of improving by 4% its performance against six measures – including energy use, water, waste and biodiversity, but it has become the first contractor in the UK to use recycled jeans as insulation. At the same scheme at Anns Grove School in Sheffield, Willmott Dixon made wall panels in the main hall from 30,000 old newspapers.