Message from the Sustainability Panel

In such a challenging period it is important that the panel is kept abreast of all the pressures and impacts on the business and so this year, in addition to the formal panel meetings, there have also been regular business updates to ensure that the panel is kept up to speed with the performance, direction and emerging risks for the business. Panel members have also met a range of other employees and visited sites to see the sustainability strategy, Act, being put into action.

The panel is pleased to have had the opportunity to discuss and influence a number of key issues this year. These have ranged from the development of a carbon net zero strategy (launching in 2023) including the approach to energy management and renewables generation, to their thinking on strategic land management and their role in protecting and enhancing biodiversity.

With the continuing evolution of best practice in the world of sustainability and the emergence of the evaluation and focus on corporate purpose, the panel were particularly pleased to have had a detailed brief and discussion on this topic covering both Tarmac and CRH, with the president taking the lead. With increasing pressures from climate change, biodiversity losses and a cost-of-living crisis in the UK and globally, understanding the purpose of the company and the role it plays in supporting the environment and the people and communities that rely on it will be an area that the panel will continue to take a particular interest in.

2023 marks 10 years since the creation of the panel and this coincides with a number of changes. Martyn Kenny is moving roles to become vice president for sustainable business and public policy at CRH. The panel would like to wish him good luck and express its thanks for everything he has done to progress Tarmac’s sustainability strategy and delivery over the past 10 years. The panel would also like to record a huge vote of thanks to Jiggy Lloyd, who has provided the secretariat for the group since its inception, but more than that has provided strategic direction and endless wisdom. Finally, after 10 years Peter Halsall, sustainable developer, has decided to step down. The Panel will miss his globally renowned expertise in green building, his consistently inquisitive mind and his straight talking but constructive input.

The panel would like to thank Emma Hines, sustainability director at Tarmac, for her valued input and support. It looks forward to working with her, welcoming new members in 2023, to continue to challenge and support Tarmac on their journey towards sustainability.