HOUSEBUILDER Dandara has issued its first ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Report, showcasing the strides the firm is taking to reduce its impact on the environment and benefit local communities.
The report comes as Dandara continues to expand its operations throughout the UK, with plans to double in size within the coming years, completing its transformation from a regional to a national housebuilder.
Dandara’s ESG report is led by Lesley Treacy, who was appointed head of ESG in 2022 to help embed sustainability into every aspect of the housebuilding operations, improve social value, and push forward the company’s drive to deliver more sustainable communities.
Lesley said, “As Dandara continues to expand operations in the UK, ensuring that we are accountable for both our social and environmental impact is vital. Our new reporting will ensure that we can continue to make progress – and set new standards for the future. Through working collaboratively with departments across the business, great sustainable strides have been made in the design, construction and operation of the new homes we build.”
The report includes information about different aspects of Dandara’s achievements in ESG areas, with highlights including:
- Achieving a 5* Customer Satisfaction rating in the Home Builders Federation (HBF) annual New Homes Survey for the fourth consecutive year.
- Rolling out hybrid solar powered generators on site to reduce fossil fuel use during construction.
- Using 100% renewable electricity on site and company offices and supporting staff to move to electric vehicles through a salary sacrifice programme.
- Launching training for site workers on how to embed sustainability into every development, including waste management and construction environment management.
- A relaunched Dandara Management Trainee Scheme that supports school and college leavers into a career in construction and degree-level qualifications
- New efforts to combat the health problems of dust exposure on construction sites, including rolling out integrated hard hat filter units which provide better protection and reduce the waste from disposable PPE.
- A focus on mental health, with 29 trained Mental Health First Aiders and a commitment to train a MHFA for every site, alongside supporting Lighthouse Club, a charity that provides mental health support to people in the construction industry.
Lesley added, “I am very proud of what we have achieved in the past 12 months, and the real commitment shown by everyone at Dandara to push towards net zero and put the welfare of the environment, our customers and our staff at the heart of everything we do. We want to be recognised as the leading provider of great places to live, work and grow, and this report shows how much we have already achieved, as well as restating our ongoing commitment to continual improvement.”
Trevor Dempsey, Dandara CEO, commented, “At Dandara, we are striving to drive positive change to our environmental footprint and improve and support new and existing communities. We are very much on our journey to reducing our environmental impact and mitigating risk against climate change, and this report shows the strong progress we are making to embed ESG into everything we do.”
Dandara’s ESG report can be found here.
