As a business, we are committed to helping build a fairer society. Whether that be through employee volunteering or pro bono, building long-term community partnerships or boosting economies through our work with clients: we add value every day, all around the world.
Inequality continues to be a major challenge globally and we believe our industry must be at the forefront of building a more sustainable and equitable future. Working with our partners, we place the needs of local communities at the heart of our projects and programmes worldwide. As we grow, we continue to invest in our education and employment programmes; opening up access to opportunity, one young person at a time.
We work in partnership with the local communities to tailor our investment to their needs, ensuring that social issues which are important to them come first. In this way, we directly contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals of providing quality education, reducing inequalities to tackle poverty.
Removing barriers to opportunity
We know that there is a wealth of talent among people who have not had access to the right opportunities. Recognising that there is a significant skills shortage in the construction industry, and that diversity is paramount, we support vulnerable children and young people to raise aspirations, reach their potential and inspire them to join our industry.
Our growing network of community champions lead initiatives and engage with colleagues to bring our global community commitment to life on a local level. One important way we do this is by giving every employee a volunteering day each year. We pride ourselves on our strong community partnerships (JINC in the Netherlands, National Literacy Trust in the UK) which enable us to adapt our programmes to the most urgent and emerging societal needs.
- 8,415 volunteer hours in FY2021
- £515,779 in employee and corporate donations in FY2021
- 26% of our people have volunteered in FY2021
- 10,700 interactions in our online resources since 2020
- 10,003 books donated through NLT partnership since 2018
Building a more equitable world
We recognise the power of our industry to tackle inequality in both developed and developing countries worldwide. Our infrastructure business prides itself on connecting remote communities (e.g. New Zealand’s first underground railway) and meeting basic utility.
Globally, our natural resources teams are increasingly working on green and renewable alternatives to provide much-needed power for economic growth. While our real estate business has a long history of working on public services and facilities ensuring more people have access to housing, healthcare and education (e.g. Trinity Business School Dublin).
However, inequality is not solely economic and we understand that people from a diverse range of backgrounds are often presented with a greater number of barriers than others.
Find out more about diversity & inclusion approach and our vision for the future.
Breaking the cycle of poverty
By addressing inequality through our services and ensuring that we open up opportunities to quality education and employment, we are directly contributing to breaking the cycle of poverty. We partner with our industry to build on these learnings and advocate for change. We support a range of research and thought leadership initiatives including the UK2070 Commission, an independent enquiry into regional inequalities across the UK who called for a new national spatial strategy in the UK in their preliminary report ‘Fairer and Stronger: Rebalancing the UK Economy’.
