People and communities
Our business is connected in many different ways with many different people - from our neighbours, employees and contractors, our customers and suppliers, to regulators, policymakers and shareholders. We endeavour to create positive relationships by being open, ethical and honest. We place the highest priority on protecting the health and safety of our workforce, contractors and the communities around us.
See more on:
Business Performance
Be a Responsible and Ethical Business
Health and Safety
Education
Working with communities
Stakeholder engagement
Business performance
Developing our business responsibly, creating value for our shareholders, employees, customers and other stakeholders
Demonstrating effective governance of the business and its sustainability performance
We measure our sustainability performance on a broad range of non-financial and financial indicators, including overall business performance.
Financial success is a prerequisite for business sustainability. Equally, our sustainability performance - for example, how we manage our carbon footprint or respond to customers' needs for sustainable products - is important for our financial success.
Sustainability is a constant factor in our business strategy and we continue to progress our goals irrespective of whether global economic conditions are difficult or favourable.
Tarmac is part of Anglo American plc. See financial information at:
www.angloamerican.co.uk
Be a responsible, ethical business
Managing our business ethically and with integrity
Being understanding, straightforward, responsive and reliable in our dealings with employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders
Playing an active role in our many communities
Actively developing a talented and diverse workforce
Being open and ethical
Investing in our workforce
We believe that the sustainability of our business is supported by attracting and recruiting a diverse workforce, treating each individual fairly and with respect, and offering employees personal development opportunities to learn new skills and progress their career to their full potential.
Tarmac expects its colleagues at all levels of the organisation to uphold the highest standards of business conduct and has policies and guidance in place to ensure that everyone understands their responsibilities. These include:
Good Citizenship principles
The Anglo American Good Citizenship principles set out the values and standards which guide us in the conduct of our business.
Tarmac Rules of Business
Guidance for business operations to reinforce compliance with competition law and other standards governing areas such as external relations, taxation, expenditure.
Integrity Policy
Sets out how Tarmac seeks to conduct business activities and internal and external relationships with fairness, honesty, consistency and reliability.
We recognise the right of our employees to freedom of association and are not aware of any operations where freedom of association and collective bargaining may be at risk. To support these rights, independent trade unions are formally recognised for collective bargaining purposes in addition to other consultative mechanisms.
Selection for employment, promotion, training or any other benefit is on the basis of aptitude and ability. We use fair and appropriate means to determine terms and conditions of employment and have appropriate procedures for the protection of workplace rights and our employees' interests.
Links to:
Careers
Suppliers to Tarmac
Health and safety
Striving to achieve and maintain the highest standards of safety and health for all employees, contractors and members of the public
Seeking to eliminate injury and ill health resulting from our activities
Health and safety is of paramount importance to Tarmac. We operate a culture of zero harm and embed safety throughout our business, underpinned by three key principles:
Zero mindset: all injuries and occupational illnesses are preventable, and we all share the responsibility for preventing and correcting unsafe behaviour
Standards: common, simple, non-negotiable safety standards and rules are consistently applied
No repeats: all unsafe practices and incidents will be investigated and necessary steps taken to prevent their recurrence.
We maintain a safe working environment through a range of measures and practices. Starting with the visible commitment of senior management, we work with colleagues so they have a clear understanding of what safety means for them and their role in maintaining a safe working environment for all.
Our Golden Rules for Safety are practical rules that underpin the activities we undertake. Employees and contractors receive training on the Golden Rules, supported by a computer-based test of knowledge and refresher training.
We have implemented comprehensive safety procedures and, in 2008, Tarmac launched a new Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Management System which is consistent with OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001.
Links to:
See our Golden Rules videos:
Tarmac Golden Rules Video (wmv, 280mb)
Tarmac Golden Rules Video - National Contracting (wmv, 94mb)
Education
Our industry is a long-term one. Many of our quarries have been in operation for decades and will be for many more years to come. So we play an important part in every community in which we operate and work hard to build positive relationships with our neighbours, not least local schools and pupils.
Every year thousands of pupils enjoy learning about what we do and why we do it. Most of our sites have close relationships with schools, holding open days at our sites so that children can learn about quarrying and building materials. Our site managers are often going back to the classroom to talk about our industry and help give careers advice. In some areas employees also volunteer to help out at schools coaching the footy team or helping with reading lessons.
Education is important to us, which is why we have developed a dedicated education website for Key Stages 2 and 3 called Quarryville, which brings Tarmac's operations to life.
To access Quarryville: www.tarmac.co.uk/quarryville
Working with communities
Our operations are often a longstanding part of the local community, so for Tarmac, maintaining good relationships and responding in an open and straightforward way is all part of being a good neighbour.
We work to build mutual awareness by helping people understand more about what we do and the positive contributions we make. We do this through, for example, liaison groups, site visits, open days, newsletters and supporting schools. In 2008, we held five open days, attended 56 liaison groups and organised 76 educational visits. In total, we welcomed almost 20,000 people onto our sites.
If you would like to visit a Tarmac quarry, please contact your nearest site. See our Location Finder for the Tarmac quarry or plant closest to you.
We look to support local projects, businesses and community initiatives and contribute to organisations that support local communities in disadvantaged areas. One such example is Tarmac's Ettingshall office, which has sponsored Walsall Football Club's community outreach programmes for years.
Where possible, we forge links with local schools and other groups, for example, our quarries at Ballidon, Swinden and Tunstead receive hundreds of children every year on organised visits. Our Northumberland region also developed a Biodiversity Challenge for schools, based on the success of the Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP s) that had been set up in the area. At other sites we take part in outreach programmes to provide career information, or lend a hand with school activities such as creating a garden or reading practice.
Community Investment Programme -
Sponsorship
Tarmac has a long and proud tradition of charitable and community support and is committed to helping and improving the communities in which we operate mainly via the local liaison committees.
Tarmac makes significant contributions to a wide variety of good causes throughout the year and we carefully consider the requests we receive and do try to keep to certain criteria when making a decision on which concerns we assist. Unfortunately, we are not able to support all of the applications that we receive and should you not hear from us within four weeks we will not be able to support your request.
Regional fund
The regional fund provides funding in support of community-based projects organised by local organisations, charities, voluntary groups, community groups, educational institutions and environmental bodies.
Projects looking for support should:
- be within the locality (10 mile radius) of a Tarmac site
- either benefit the local community, environment, biodiversity or education
- show evidence of being well managed and an effort of fundraising locally
If you would like to apply for regional funding please contact your local Tarmac site management.
See our Location Finder for the Tarmac quarry or plant closest to you.
Stakeholder engagement
Proactively engaging with and listening to our communities and other stakeholders.
Our customers
We listen to our customers and receive feedback via dedicated
account managers and technical teams and our project quality
processes. We have undertaken surveys to raise awareness of
industry attitudes towards sustainability and understand their
priority sustainability issues. Tarmac's participation in a wide
range of industry forums and initiatives also enables us to
monitor issues affecting our customers. We constantly feed this
knowledge back into the business so we can improve Tarmac's
products and services.
Our shareholders
Tarmac is a wholly owned subsidiary of Anglo American plc. Through our association with the group, we play a role in its prosperity and financial sustainability. Our aim is to provide shareholders with a good return on investment, while demonstrating our value to all other stakeholders.
Government, local authorities, public bodies and trade associations
Tarmac establishes and maintains links with government, local
authorities, regulators, public bodies and trade associations.
We have a responsibility to be aware of developing legislation
and policy which affects our employees, business operations,
shareholders, suppliers, customers and local communities so that
we can provide expert industry input and have the knowledge
to respond and adapt appropriately. Our relationships are carried
out in compliance with competition law and our internal codes of conduct.
Non governmental organisations
Tarmac works with Nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs) in
a number of ways. In working with them we learn and benefit
from their independent, expert knowledge to help us improve
our sustainability performance and understanding of certain
key issues. Our Biodiversity Action Plans have seen us working closely at different locations with The Wildlife Trusts, the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust
for Conservation Volunteers.
