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Leadbitter Group achieve environmental certification

For the Leadbitter Group, market leaders in construction and affordable housing, working with certification body NQA to achieve and maintain official certification to environmental standard ISO 14001 is part of the Company’s culture of continuous improvement.

Leadbitter Group offers construction services to a wide range of housing and construction projects.  With four operating regions across the UK, the Company has an approximate annual turnover of £350 million.

According to Group Technical Services Manager, Kim Shepherd, “We are always looking for ways to improve our methods of working and to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations.  Our desire to be ISO 14001 certified stemmed from our determination to reduce waste and costs, effectively manage our impact on the environment and formalise our existing environmental management systems through an internationally-recognised system.

“Having had a good past working relationship with NQA, which has helped us achieve and maintain the quality management standard ISO 9001, it made sense to return to them for help. Implementing our environmental management system (EMS) and gaining official certification enabled us to confidently demonstrate that we take environmental issues very seriously.”

Leadbitter took the first steps towards a formal EMS with the phased implementation of British standard BS8555 / IEMA Acorn scheme, before going on to achieve ISO 14001. 

Kim continues, “Policies, procedures, documents and templates were created as part of our EMS, all compliant to the requirements of the standard.  Our next step was to introduce the new practices into the organisation in a logical and phased manner.  To do this, we decided to implement a bespoke sustainability and environmental training programme that was delivered to all Leadbitter employees.”

During EMS implementation, Leadbitter developed and introduced a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) for use on all of its projects.  This helps the company manage the waste it produces on construction projects and reduce the amount going to landfill.  The SWMP is monitored and feedback is used to decide on future waste reduction and sustainable working objectives.

Leadbitter’s SWMP is proving successful at Southampton City College.  This project includes part demolition and refurbishment of existing college buildings and the construction of two new buildings.  Nearly 40%, or 3,310 cubic metres of total waste has been diverted from landfill by recycling and re-using waste materials.

Leadbitter is currently developing an integrated management system that is set to combine both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, addressing all aspects of both management standards.

Leadbitter were recently named ‘Contractor of the Year’ in the 2009 Building Awards and its SWMP has been recognised by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme).

For further information about ISO 14001 and integrated management systems visit www.nqa.com

Published 22/10/2009

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