Premium housebuilder Redrow has been named in TIME Magazine and Statista’s inaugural report of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies 2024, after a rigorous four stage process.
Over recent years, Redrow has continued to implement a number of sustainability initiatives and the recognition is testament to its continued efforts in responding to customer demands, enhancing its governance, as well as future proofing the high-quality homes and communities it builds.
Its robust operational framework, focusing on three core values of building responsibly, creating thriving communities, and valuing people, helps to deliver on these purpose and strategy initiatives.
Placemaking, promoting biodiversity to deliver net gains beyond regulatory requirements and investing in innovative technologies to transition to a low carbon approach alongside the consistent delivery of award-winning, energy efficient homes to customers is in-built into every one of Redrow’s developments. Beyond bricks and mortar, the housebuilder is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, inspiring the next generation with opportunity for apprenticeships and working alongside partners to deliver programmes to support future skills in the industry.
Creating a better way to live
The housebuilder is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which it is achieving to reach, no later than 2045. As a result, it has set and had validated its near-term targets against a 2021 baseline, and has submitted its net zero target for validation by the Science based Targets initiative. Through the investment in innovative technologies to improve the energy efficiency of its homes, Redrow is leading the way by ensuring its homes are ‘zero carbon ready’ for when the grid is decarbonised.
Redrow is committed to evolving its designs and features to meet its ongoing sustainability targets. Redrow was the first large housebuilder to introduce air source heat pumps as a standard across all detached homes on its new developments, a pioneering shift from traditional gas boilers.
In helping support the wider industry, Redrow recently hosted a Future Homes Standard event for housebuilding SMEs. The housebuilder brought leaders together across the industry at its first air source heat pump development to promote knowledge sharing ahead of the Future Homes Standard being implemented in 2025.
Nature for people strategy
Redrow also developed its biodiversity strategy, ‘Nature for People’, in partnership with the Wildlife Trusts in 2020 to ensure its developments deliver net gains for biodiversity, connect residents with nature, and establish processes for long-term management and monitoring.
As well as delivering meaningful biodiversity net gain outcomes, the strategy also delivers high quality landscaping and natural spaces which provide a beautiful setting to Redrow homes and valued spaces for its customers to explore and enjoy.
Making construction a career for everyone
Companies included in the list were also judged based on their efforts in promoting diversity across their workforce. Women are still considerably underrepresented in the construction industry as a whole, so in a bid to build a culture that is inclusive to all, Redrow set targets to increase the percentage of women recruited into the business. This included graduate roles at 40% and the percentage of female employees in senior management roles to 28%, all by 2025.
Redrow apprentice data shows prior to joining, 17% thought the industry was heavily male dominated, but since working at Redrow, this figure fell to just 7% who still found the industry to be heavily male dominated.
Matthew Pratt, Group CEO, said: “We’re proud to have been recognised as one of the world’s most sustainable companies by TIME Magazine and Statista, following on from our leading sustainability initiatives.
“As a business we’re continuing to invest in making our customers’ lives better and easier; whether that’s by ensuring our homes are more cost effective to run or by putting nature at the heart of our developments. We know that sustainability is a key priority for our customers, for our colleagues and for all our wider stakeholders. This recognition is testament to the hard work of the whole business and I’m proud of everyone at Redrow who’s played a part in reaching this point.”
Niels Terfehr, Vice President of Research & Analysis at Statista, commented: “Congratulations to everyone at Redrow on your outstanding sustainability achievements! With excellent emission and energy intensity scores, a 50% gender ratio on your Board, and adherence to top reporting standards and SBTi targets, you are setting a benchmark for corporate responsibility.”
Methodology
The global and independent study by Statista evaluated companies across more than 20 KPIs related to sustainability, such as compliance with international reporting standards, emissions reductions, commitment to goals and initiatives, gender diversity, employee turnover and work safety.
The creation of the ranking began with a comprehensive selection process from a pool of over 5,000 of the world’s largest and most influential companies. Companies then underwent a rigorous 4-step process to identify the top 500 and an overall sustainability score was calculated.
The calculation included analysis of external ratings from reputable organisations such as The Science Based Targets initiative. Subsequently, reporting standards for sustainable practices were assessed where, in the final step, various environmental and social KPIs were researched and measured against competing companies.
Through this process, Redrow was identified as one of the world’s most sustainable companies.
