As 2022 rapidly draws to a close, I can look back with a real sense of pride in the work we have accomplished and how we have grown as a business and a team.
Many of you joined us in celebrating our 45th year in business, and we were delighted to be able to use the opportunity to host exciting events for clients and suppliers to raise more than £15,700 so far this year for our nominated charities, including local grassroots charity Isabel Hospice, as well as Teenage Cancer Trust and LandAid.
This year has seen us achieve several other key milestones. We are celebrating 20 years as a CIOB Chartered Building Company, which coincides with our 20 years in partnership with local charity Isabel Hospice, which provides care for patients who are affected by life-limiting illnesses. Over two decades, Pexhurst have fundraised an outstanding total of £25,380 for the hospice.
This year, we also hosted our first roundtable debate with a panel of leading industry representatives including building surveyors, architects, and asset and estates managers, to discuss the Refurbishment and Reuse vs Demolition and Rebuild debate.
At Pexhurst, we are passionate about our role in driving sustainability in the sector. This year, we are on target to recycle over 96% of our waste across all sites, minimising the amount going to landfill. Setting the example for our industry peers, numerous of our projects were BREEAM accredited this year, which is something we are continuing to build upon.
Pexhurst are also proud to have achieved our Planet Mark accreditation, which recognises continuous improvement in transforming the environment and the economy by tracking carbon and social data. Through Planet Mark, we have shown our dedication to minimising the environmental impact of our business operations, reducing waste and investing in green technologies. In 2021, Pexhurst’s total carbon footprint was 68.7 tCO₂e, and our total carbon footprint per employee was 1.4 tCO₂e. Additionally, our total social value amounted to £217,042. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in helping us achieve this incredible result.
This is only the start of our journey towards being carbon neutral and now we have achieved this certification the next stage is to work closely with Planet Mark to reduce our total carbon footprint to ensure we hit the UK target of Net Zero by 2050.
Not resting on our laurels, we developed and implemented the “Site Proud” scheme on our sites to maintain the highest levels of quality, health and safety, appearance, and customer experience.
As a business, we continue to evolve as we win increasingly complex and diverse projects in the commercial, industrial and specialist industry sectors. Our geographical reach has expanded as the business has grown, which has also meant that our supply chain has expanded, ensuring we reduce the likelihood of supply chain disruptions impacting our projects.
But we, like many this year, also faced our fair share of challenges due to rising prices and inflation. We continue to work hard to manage our workflow and upskill our existing staff. Our apprenticeship programme continues to attract new talent into the sector and fill the skills gap.
We are looking forward to a strong start in 2023 but I have no doubt there will be continued challenges next year that will affect our industry. I will always remain positive because I have a great team around me who are passionate about their roles in delivering outstanding and innovative projects. There are always new opportunities generated in this sector and I for one will be on the lookout for them.
