‘
We wanted to bring
somebody in to challenge
our perceptions to how we
treat CR, why we think it’s
’
going to be important
their whole sustainability policy isn’t seen
as something that is done at the centre of
the business – it is actually adding value to
their business units so they are more
willing to integrate it into what they do, so
it becomes part of the culture.”
He also predicts a future of reporting
that concentrates on key issues, with more
measurement making sure reports come
“out of the general and into the specifics”
and reporting “hard things against
Galliford Try has learnt that CR reports need both internal and external focus hard targets”. “Of course, those businesses
that still think its fluff, will still report
state of play. So, he bought in Paul carried out an audit of Galliford it as fluff.”
environmental consultancy, Hyder Try’s CR systems and met with about 40 He’d also like the internal and external
Consulting. “We wanted to bring people within the business to “find out angles of sustainability reports to be clearly
somebody in to challenge our perceptions what it was like at the sharp end, to defined. “If you look at most people’s CR,
and attitudes to how we treat CR, how we establish what implementation was actually it seems to be more interested in internal
deal with it, what we think of it, why we going on and where the gaps were”. things that the business is doing. That’s
think it’s going to be important and what “I was quite keen they should use their great. But it should be about: this is what
we do with it in the future,” he says. whole CR and sustainability drivers as we can do for you, client.
Enter, Paul Maryan, Hyder’s director business-winning tools,” he adds. “There should be an internal focus, and
of sustainability. According to Paul, CR should be about an external focus – the external stuff for
Impressed by Galliford Try’s intentions winning more work; because most clients, the internal stuff to help promote
to identify how they could make the most contractors out there are good and internal sharing of good practice and
of their CR activity, Paul came in and financially competitive, meaning that, what novel approaches.”
began to investigate. “Like most used to be seen as softer issues are now For Jon Bailey and Galliford Try, the
organisations, what they say to the world becoming major differentiators in the journey has been a “step-change” in how it
about what they are doing is not market. “What Galliford Try has to do is to approaches sustainability. “In our day-to-
necessarily shared inside the business,” make sure it correctly flags up the good day operations we try to be as responsible
he explains. work it has done in the past – and there has as possible. CR is part of what we do and
“Jon is a really enthusiastic manager been lots of it – and make sure that we must aspire to be better and build
with the support of the company secretary. their approach to CR targets what the for the future. As long as we get that
But in terms of his capacity to engender market needs.” message across, that’s the most important
change within the organisation, it is limited. But, what does he mean by this? For thing,” says Jon.
This is a common problem You’re never a Paul, a company like Galliford Try For him, the future is about continuous
prophet in your own country. shouldn’t limit itself to having just one development and reporting on the “harder”
“When I pitched for the work, I said to sustainability policy/report because it targets Paul mentioned, something that will
Jon, ‘I’m not necessarily going to find works in so many different sectors, each be important as the company reported for
anything new or anything you don’t with its own agendas and objectives. For the first time its carbon impacts as part of
already know about your business. But example, the water sector is becoming the 2009 Carbon Disclosure Project.
what I can do is flag up key issues, tell you increasingly interested in counting carbon. “I’ve done a lot of work promoting CR
the things you absolutely have to But carbon impact measurement isn’t internally. It’s now an item on executive
concentrate on and put forward a business particularly helpful at the moment to the and divisional board agendas, which is a big
case for doing this work’. homebuyer like you or I – “for that sector, step in itself.
“What is obvious to an outside observer it means nothing but cost, which can’t be “But there’s always a danger with CR in
may not be to staff working in the business. paid for by the ultimate product”. companies that it gets badged as something
They have to do the day job, they have to Paul’s input is making Galliford Try extra – as a bolt on. When actually, what we
win work, deliver it, make money and think hard about having separate policies are trying to do is bring together a wide
differentiate themselves – all the stuff that for each of the sectors it operates in. “The range of our activities and communicate
gets in the way of looking at internal issues. market dictates what it is they should be them in a way that our stakeholders look
So, people haven’t been able to focus on the doing and they have to make sure they are for and understand.
real simple things.” doing it,” he says. “What that means is that “That has been a real challenge.”
SB FutureProof ❘ October 2009 11
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16