SEPTEMBER 2024CONSTRUCTIONBUSINESSREVIEW.COM9At the end of every year, we like to look back on our impact. In 2023, for example, we supported 76 apprentices and 70 graduates, engaged with over 8,500 young people through education engagement, worked with over 450 local suppliers in the areas where we were active, and raised over £51,000 for charities across the UK and Ireland. We hosted over 37 sustainability-led events, supporting the protection of biodiversity, education on environmental issues, and support to different communities with the development of green spaces.When we deliver major construction and civil engineering projects, we want to invite the local community on that journey with us. We want to make sure that they feel informed and that they can see that, as contractors, we are doing our best to leave their area improved from when we arrived. We won two national GO Excellence in Public Procurement Awards for our work at South Lake Leisure Centre in Northern Ireland and the Edinburgh Trams to Newhaven project in Scotland.When it comes to innovation, we provided a best practice solution during the delivery of Edinburgh Trams to Newhaven, which we delivered in JV with our partners as Sacyr Farrans Neopul (SFN). A `Support for Business' package was developed for businesses along the project route with many support measures, including help with deliveries and dispatches during the works. A key challenge was the diversity of the businesses in the Leith community, so we recruited local people to deliver the initiative.Five Logistics Hubs were established, working in partnership with Sustrans Scotland, to bring trikes and trailers onto the street. The hubs managed over 87,500 deliveries and received 250+ pieces of positive feedback. In addition,, the team delivered on-street engagement,, including pop-up information points and sessions, for the wider community. This is only one example, but our social value priorities are reflected in processes and systems, from our policy to procurement to contract and delivery management, and they reflect our understanding of our customers, suppliers, and third-party partners. The social impact achieved is captured and continuously improved upon to ensure we add maximum value for the communities in which we work to make a real difference now and in the future. Defining social value is far from straightforward, given the many contrasting definitions that exist across public and private organisations; however, we do understand significant impacts can be made on the society, environment, and economy in the area surrounding our projects
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