Watkin Jones plc
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2023)
Reporting Period: 2023
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:2,004 tCO2e/year (location based); 1,477 tCO2e/year (market based)
Scope 1 Emissions:1,476 tCO2e/year
Scope 2 Emissions:528 tCO2e/year (location based); 289 tCO2e/year (market based)
Total Energy Consumption:9,023,582 kWh/year
Carbon Intensity:14.9 tonnes CO2e/£m revenue
ESG Focus Areas
- People
- Places
- Planet
Environmental Achievements
- 17% decrease in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions on a market basis
- 98.8% waste diverted from landfill
Social Achievements
- Maintained excellent health and safety record, with an incident rate at 4.9% of industry average
- Employee engagement score of 73%
- Fresh net promoter scores: residents +35, clients +37
- 100% of PBSA schemes submitted for planning were rated BREEAM Excellent
Governance Achievements
- Increased building safety provision by £35 million
- Extended the maturity of its bank facility to November 2025
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Net zero emissions by 2050
Medium-term Goals:
- Net zero scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions
- Submit science-based targets, including for Scope 3 carbon emissions
- ISO 14001 accreditation in supply chain: 100% of main suppliers and subcontractors
- Car fleet: full electric vehicle fleet by 2026
- Sustainable heating systems: in all development designs
Short-term Goals:
- Reduce water consumption by 10% on 2021 baseline
- Increase waste diversion from landfill to 97.5%
- Group employee engagement rating: 80%
- Voluntary staff turnover: below 20%
- Group investment in learning: 4.5 days per employee
- Health and safety incident rate: less than 5% of the national average
- Employee volunteering: 5,000 hours annually
- Fresh NPS (customer): +10
- Fresh NPS (client): +10
- Design quality of student developments (BREEAM rating): 100% Excellent
- Design quality of BTR developments (HQM): 4* by 2030
- Wired score: Silver
- Considerate Constructors Scheme: Very Good for all sites
Environmental Challenges
- Continued build cost inflation
- High interest rates
- Geopolitical instability
- Lack of market liquidity
- Third-party contractor liquidation
- Building safety remediation costs
Mitigation Strategies
- Realignment of cost base
- Careful management of cash and working capital
- Improved procurement processes
- Paused expenditure on some sites
- Accelerated sale of non-core assets
- Increased building safety provision
- Extended bank facility maturity
Supply Chain Management
Supplier Audits: Regular audits of key suppliers
Responsible Procurement
- Rigorous pre-qualification process for new contractors
- Bespoke system to record and communicate defects
- Target for major supply chain partners to have ISO 14001 accreditation by FY25
- Supplier code of conduct
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Physical Risks
- Reduction in land availability due to climate change impacts
- Extreme weather events disrupting supply chain
- Extreme weather events damaging sites or disrupting construction
Transition Risks
- Reduction in land availability due to government policies or environmental restrictions
- Stricter environmental laws increasing costs
- Carbon pricing mechanisms increasing costs
- Transition to lower emission equipment leading to supply/demand imbalance
Opportunities
- Investing in recycled inputs
- Enrolment in energy efficiency programmes
- Working with suppliers with more efficient processes
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: GRI, TCFD
Certifications: ISO 14001, WiredScore Portfolio
Sustainable Products & Innovation
- Modular kitchens
- Bathroom pods
- Prefabricated service ducts
- Air source heat pumps
- Sustainable concrete mix
- Window frames with recycled content
Awards & Recognition
- BTR Specialist Award at the Estate Gazette Awards
- Platinum status in the Global Student Living Index
- Best Student Private Housing Provider for the third year in a row
- Health & Wellbeing Award at the Student Accommodation Awards 2023