SmartCarbon sat down with Darush Dodds, Director of Corporate Affairs & ESG at Esh Group, to find out more about how one of the North of England’s leading names in construction is partnering with SmartCarbon to implement a meaningful and considered carbon reduction plan.
In 2023, North of England construction and built environment business, Esh Group, announced its plans to become a more sustainable contractor. In launching a carbon reduction strategy under the title of Even Greener, the firm outlined its intention to take achievable steps across the business to reduce carbon emissions year-on-year, with the ultimate goal of achieving net zero by 2040.
At the forefront of these efforts is Esh Group’s Director of Corporate Affairs and ESG, Darush Dodds, who has been working within the business to turn this mission into a reality. Darush says,
“I’ve overseen the development of social value at Esh Group for the last 10 years. It’s an area of our business that has evolved and grown over the years to encompass a range of new responsibilities as the requirements of local authorities, our clients, framework partners and procurement policy have changed. More recently, the emphasis on environmental issues has grown dramatically.
“Today, social value is more accurately described as ESG – Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance. I would say that over the last two or three years the environmental responsibility piece has become so much more central to everyday business practice and the compliance requirements for an organisation like Esh Group.”
Of course, paying attention to carbon emissions and energy consumption isn’t new to the business. Having held ISO50001 certification for more than a decade and demonstrated a commitment to effective energy management, Esh Group has long attempted to conduct work as efficiently as possible. As Darush explains,
“Monitoring energy usage within our business – whether that’s in our head office or on our sites – has always been important to us. We have a great team here that work to analyse our data and ensure that we’re being proactive in this area. So, although we perhaps hadn’t benchmarked emissions in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol until recently, we do have lots of historical data to demonstrate where we’ve been making improvements and focusing our efforts.”
In order to bring those standards up to the latest requirements, meet evolving compliance requirements and track progress, Esh Group engaged with SmartCarbon. Appointed in 2022, SmartCarbon has been involved in helping Esh Group to more accurately measure and report on Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions, as well as develop a clearer plan for reducing emissions for the long term. Darush says,
“What we like about working with SmartCarbon is that the platform turns the data we collect into a format that meets reporting requirements. And the support of the knowledgeable team at SmartCarbon acts as a valuable third-party verification for our reporting efforts.
“Additionally, the team’s experience in other industries has been valuable to us. Being able to take ideas and best practice from fields such as healthcare and apply it to our own business is very useful.”
Through consultancy support, SmartCarbon helps Esh Group to ensure legal compliance, manage climate-related risks and identify future opportunities for improvement, as well as refine the organisation’s carbon reduction strategy.
What being green means to Esh Group
“For us, it’s about being a good contractor,” says Darush. “We take our responsibility to decarbonise construction activity seriously. In our industry it’s now a central feature in every tender we bid for and every procurement process we enter.
“From a financial perspective, we also know that when we reduce carbon emissions we can also reduce spend in some cases. If anything, carbon reduction has become the backdrop to our working lives at Esh Group. Whether it’s our site managers, back-office staff, marketing teams or supply chain, everyone now has to be invested in this journey that we’re on.
“Not surprisingly, it’s the supply chain that is our biggest challenge. Our Scope 3 emissions are significant and they are the most difficult ones to tackle. But with SmartCarbon’s help we are working to educate our suppliers and support them to implement change. Our approach is to break down what is a complex problem and address the smaller, solvable parts.”
In practice, that means everything from reducing on-site energy usage to sourcing competitively priced products that meet “Even Greener” requirements from builder’s merchants. Darush continues,
“The reality is that frameworks for procurement are focusing increasingly on carbon emissions and our entire industry really has to be pulling in the same direction. We don’t mind providing training to suppliers who also work with our competitors because we acknowledge that it’s a team effort and a responsibility we all share.”
Internally, the business has recently taken steps to ensure that all departments are engaged with Even Greener by appointing a number of Carbon Champions – representatives from across the organisation tasked with bringing ideas and innovations forward for trial and adoption. The aim of this initiative is to develop solutions that reduce carbon, improve operational performance and ensure commercial viability within business operations.
Asked how he feels about the broader UK business landscape and the national targets for Net Zero by 2050, Darush says,
“We’re cautiously optimistic about the progress being made and we welcome changes to legislation and funding for innovation that helps to move the needle on carbon emissions. For us as a business, it’s also important that we are realistic and transparent about our own progress. We’ve set what we think to be ambitious but achievable targets for 2040 but we are under no illusions that it’s going to be a large task that takes long-term commitment.
“Fundamentally, we want to be able to deliver on our promises rather than overpromise and fall short.”
Ready to take the climate emergency seriously as a business but not sure where to start? Or are you simply looking to improve your current reporting? Get in touch with the SmartCarbon team today and let us help you make a start on calculating, reporting and reducing your greenhouse gas emissions.