GRS launches Sustainable Development report – people, planet, practices

GRS has set out its drive towards a sustainable business model in its first formal Sustainable Development report, published this week.

In the new document the company has outlined its strategic ESG framework of the ‘three Ps’ – people, planet and practices – highlighted achievements to date and stated its main sustainability goals for the future.

Highlights in 2021/22 included:

People

• Launching the “Let’s Talk” mental health campaign as part of our wellbeing strategy
• Almost 40% of our people participated in formal training as part of their personal development
• Over 100 managers participated in ‘emotional resilience’ training to support their teams

Planet

• Increasing rail volumes to 20% of our delivered materials – more than any other year
• Secured long-term exclusive supply of aggregates derived from UK tungsten mine waste
• Opened state-of-the-art processing plant at Tilbury to bring low-carbon aggregate to London

Practices

• Restructured the business to improve efficiency and accelerate our sustainability journey
• Record turnover gives us the scale and the means to invest in sustainable technologies
• Increased community support with operational site improvements and a new volunteer scheme

Read the GRS Sustainable Development Report 2021-22

Although this is the first time the GRS Group has published a report of this kind, the firm’s credentials in this area are widely documented – the entire GRS business model has, for more than a decade, been based on efficient use of natural resources and transporting them as efficiently as possible.

This strategy has increasingly meant recovering materials from recycled or secondary sources and then minimising how far they travel and how much they’re handled. By doing so GRS has been able to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. In pursuing these efficiencies GRS has invested in lower carbon material sources and lower carbon transport solutions like rail and river.

GRS Chief Executive Jon Fisher said: “I am proud that we have been ahead of the game in developing a business model that has sustainability at its core. Yet in recent years – as we see the effects of climate change around us – the bar has been raised significantly as the UK sets its sights on reaching net zero carbon by 2050.

“The team at GRS has been galvanized into a fresh series of actions, and we have set ourselves a stretch target to reach net zero by 2040. With the ingenuity and can-do attitude of our people I am optimistic that we can get there. This is, after all, a business that likes to go beyond!

“Of course, carbon and climate are critical, but delivering a sustainable business model is about more than that – it’s about the wellbeing, development and empowerment of our people, the local environment in the places we operate and the best practices and high standards for which we hold ourselves accountable.

“We have therefore focused on three P’s – people, planet and practices – which together provide the framework for our approach to sustainability and reflect the widely recognised ESG model (environment, social, governance). These are outlined in this first report which we hope people find interesting and useful.

I am grateful to our business partners, our loyal customers, our strategic suppliers and our dedicated employees for their collaboration that will allow the entire supply chain to move together towards net zero and a sustainable business model. I and my executive colleagues at GRS welcome comments and questions as we find ways to rise to the challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.”

The new GRS Sustainable Development 2021/22 can be viewed here