corporate social responsibility

mission statement
“To develop innovative, economic and sustainable solutions that successfully meet the needs of our clients, whilst adding value and a better quality of life for all. In doing so, we aim to provide an exciting and rewarding work environment for our employees and a successful, dynamic Group, meeting the aspirations of all our stakeholders.”

Sustainability is an important part of the future of Waterman Group. For a summary of our sustainability policy please click here

governance
Waterman has a structure of governance that is key to ensuring that we deliver on all our goals and aspirations for sustainability. Our Plc Management Board, cascades information down through our General Management Board who are in turn responsible for feeding important strategic information to our company boards, directors, team leaders, and ultimately every member of our staff. We also operate a separate Sustainability Strategy Group made up of senior managers from across the Group and tasked with driving the Group’s corporate responsibility strategy.

management systems
We are pleased to have maintained quality and environmental management systems certified to ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 in order to guarantee continued high standards of service delivery and environmental management. We continue to work towards certification to ISO 18001 for health and safety management.

Our principal environmental achievements over the last 12 months have been:

•               Ongoing consideration of a green energy tariffs for all offices when contracts are due for reneral;
•               All CRT monitors have now been replaced with LCD models;
•               The selection and use of a courier/mini-cab service with fuel efficient and low emission vehicles for the London offices;
•               The introduction of Fairtrade caterinf products at our London offices;
•               The introduction of a staff bicycle purchasing scheme; and
•               The monitoring of all maintenance programmes for electrical and gas equipment to ensure efficient operation.

Health and Safety
The Group’s policy and safe working procedures aim to prevent accidents, incidents and ill health by providing and maintaining adequate control of risks arising from all work activities within its offices or at associated site locations. The Group places the highest priority on the protection of its employees, construction industry workers not in its employment and individuals affected by our activities.

Waterman Health & Safety (a division of Waterman Transport and Development Limited) continues to advise senior management on health and safety and staff wellbeing. The division reviews the Group’s health and safety policy and procedures, advises upon new and impending changes to legislation, provides training to staff on general health and safety matters, to designers on the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007, on construction site safety and on fire and emergency related matters.
 
The Group operates a health and safety consultative committee comprising of representatives from operating companies, which is responsible for consulting with staff on health and safety matters and passing concerns and recommendations to senior management.
 
Waterman Health & Safety undertakes an annual office and company health and safety inspections to assess the Group’s overall health and safety performance and compliance with existing legislation and good practice. This audit showed that the health and safety performance and systems of each company and office are continuing to be maintained to a high standard.

We have had no serious incidents or breach of our policy, nor have we been involved in any prosecutions or complaints regarding health and safety.

A Riddor type report was submitted to the Board in July 2009 covering the last six months of the financial year, whereby no reportable instances have
been recorded.

Clients and Projects
A number of exciting and award-winning regeneration projects have been initiated and completed this year, including the Liverpool One development which won Regeneration Development Project of the year at the North East Property Awards 2009. Our building services and environmental designers have played a key role in helping a number of education projects achieve a BREEAM excellent rating. Using design techniques including building form, facades and orientation and sustainable and low carbon technologies, we have been able to design projects that use 25% less CO2 than a standard building regulation compliant building. On more recent projects, we are considering the use of biomass CHP system to achieve even greater CO2 savings. Waterman has also provided a range of consultancy support services to developers Prologis and Astral during the planning application stage for a major new rail freight terminal. If approved, it will facilitate the transfer of approximately two billion freight tonne miles from the UK’s roads to the railways every year. This means more than half a million heavy goods vehicles will be removed from the national highway network each year.

In recognition of the emerging opportunities within sustainability, Waterman Sustainability has been established to provide a central co-ordinated focus to delivering our services in this area. Drawing on the combined resources of our environmental, civil, transport, building services and structures teams, Waterman Sustainability will enable us to deliver co-ordinated and integrated solutions to our clients. In addition, we have invested in a central research and development function which will be responsible for researching the latest developments and policy initiatives which will then be made available centrally to the Group.

Human Resources
Our dedicated and talented workforce is our most valuable asset, and in the current economic climate it has been important to retain a dynamic work environment focussed and committed to providing innovative engineering solutions that meet our client needs. We are pleased to note there has been an increase in both female and ethnic minority staff at both employee and management levels, adding to the diverse environment in which Waterman operate. We continue to offer a flexible benefits package (reviewed annually), part-time hours, sabbaticals and intercompany transfers where possible to meet the needs of our varied workforce. We are continuing to work towards Investors in People (IIP) accreditation.

Waterman’s first UK National Graduate Forum was held in November 2008. The aim of the forum is to provide a way for graduates to identify common interests, build relationships, improve training possibilities, encourage working groups of budding chartered engineers and ultimately to ensure our graduates feel there is improved support in their professional and personal career development.

Community
We believe in giving back to the community and this is reflected in the many community and charity projects in which we have been involved. In particular, Better Bankside – a Business Improvement District provides a focus for community involvement. The Group has provided support to a number of initiatives that have helped a range of charities in assisting families and the young with particular emphasis on those not in full time education, employment or training.

Sustainability Policy
The Group is committed to achieving a high level of awareness of the ethical and commercial importance of sustainability to the organisation and wherever practicable, to integrating sustainable and responsible practice into its day-to-day operations.

Sustainable development is the means of ensuring a better quality of life for all, now and in the future. It means effective conservation of the environment and prudent use of resources. It means equality of social progress and the maintenance of high stable levels of economic growth through working towards achieving more with less resource. It means more efficient use of energy to help reduce greenhouse gases and climate change impact.

Within its working practices the Group will:

(a) Clarify to all companies and staff the aims of sustainability

(b) Strive to select contractors and suppliers on the basic of shared values and standards of sustainable practice

(c) Work in partnership with clients, contractors, architects and other consultants to achieve the aims of sustainability so as to:

 •               Protect and enhance the natural and built environment wherever possible
 •               Encourage the sustainable use of resources at all times
 •               Reduce waste generation where practicable and dispose of waste responsibly
 •               Reduce consumption of energy in construction and use
 •               Promote the use of sustainable modes of transport 
 •               Assist in the creation of sustainable communities
 •               Follow best international practice on environmental legislation and standards
 •               Promote sustainable design, development and construction practices

Within the operation and management of its affairs, the group will strive to:

 •               Adopt an holistic approach to business planning and practice, to include non-financial measures of success
 •               Implement quality, health and safety and environmental management systems to maintain continual improvement in these areas
 •               Provide a high standard of working environment for all employees and promote the adoption of a healthy work-life balance
 •               Promote efficiency in energy and water usage, and paper and consumables  recycling in all its places of business
 •               Support and encourage wherever possible staff members’ participation in charitable or community activities
 •               Promote travel plans for all offices
 •               Support all professional and administrative activities with appropriate training, coaching and advice 
 •               Conduct its business with the highest standards of professional and personal integrity and honesty

For a summary of our environmental policy click here