The building materials group RMC has said it will ensure all its UK operating companies are involved in at least one local education initiative and one community or conservation project by the end of this year.
The target is set in the firm’s debut UK sustainable development report, which covers community issues for the first time and was published last month. The report will appear annually.
RMC says around half of its 31 operating companies are already involved in such projects, but that it wants all of them to have set up community or conservation schemes by the end of 2002.
The 24-page document, which covers RMC’s activities in 2000 and incorporates its third annual environment report, also says all the firm’s 7000 UK employees should receive environmental training by the end of this year. Around 1000 had done so by the end of last year.
It additionally pledges to halve the number of reportable accidents at RMC sites by 2005. Accident statistics for 2000 showed ‘mixed progress’, with only three of its five divisions improving their performance in this area.
RMC, which is the fifth-largest building materials producer in the world, also reveals in the report that during 2000 it:
had no environmental prosecutions for the second year running
doubled the tonnage of recycled materials used in its products
recycled more than 80 per cent of the water it uses
bought 94 per cent of its wood from sustainable sources.