A growing number of organisations have sustainability goals but not all have fully embraced it as a new business model.
Sisk is committed to being carbon neutral by 2030, and has firmly placed that ambition at the heart of their business strategy, says Wayne Metcalfe, director of health, safety, sustainability and quality, John Sisk & Son.
“It will inform everything we do as a business as we grow and expand the services we offer,” he says.
In 2020, the company launched its 2030 Sustainability Roadmap – Building Today, Caring for Tomorrow where it made the commitment to being a net zero business by 2030.
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“In our roadmap we committed to 21 stretch targets that are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are working collaboratively with our supply chain partners, our clients and a range of stakeholders to help us deliver on our targets and play our part in reducing carbon emissions,” Metcalfe says.
Bog restoration is one of the innovative ways the company is bringing this strategy to life. In partnership with Green Restoration Ireland (GRI) and a local farmer, they have begun the rewetting of 50 acres of bog at Lackaduff, Doocastle, Co Mayo.
“Ireland is home to 50 per cent of the last remaining raised bogs in Western Europe. As a direct consequence of this bog rewetting project, 36,000 tonnes of carbon will be permanently locked into the Lackaduff bog and 20-30 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will be avoided annually,” explains Metcalfe.
Sisk also has ambitious tree planting targets.
“Our target is to have planted 1.7 million native woodland trees across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe by our 170-year anniversary in 2029. In 2021, we planted over 182,380 native trees including alder, oak and birch, in Ireland, and over 1,000 native species were planted in Sweden.”
Employees have volunteered hundreds of hours of their free time by taking part in the tree planting efforts, Metcalfe adds.
Sisk was part of the development of the recently launched Irish Green Building Council Plan, “Building a Zero Carbon Ireland: A roadmap to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment across its whole life cycle,” which presents a set of recommendations to halve construction sector emissions by 2030, and to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment by 2050.
The company has also begun to actively collaborate with green suppliers, Metcalfe says.
“Our procurement teams actively seek to collaborate with clients, consultants, specialist contractors and suppliers to develop integrated supply chains which respect biodiversity and human rights and promote fair employment practices.”
Metcalfe notes that in line with Sisk’s zero philosophy, the company is aiming to eventually achieve zero waste and zero carbon.
To date, they have delivered a 15 per cent reduction in absolute Scope 1, 2 and mandatory Scope 3 emissions (accounting for 1,597 tonnes of carbon dioxide) and a 30 per cent reduction in energy consumption, while 97.7 per cent of its construction and demolition waste has been diverted from landfill.
But, he admits, this will be easier said than done.
“We have made some progress but have a long way to go.”