Event Report: Meet the Berkeley Group, Horsham

As part of the University of Brighton’s Green Growth Platform events programme, local firms interested in working with the Berkeley Group met in Horsham for a breakfast event.

The Berkeley Group are one of the UK’s largest home-builders with a number of sites currently in Sussex including Horsham and Southwater.

Josie Cadwallader-Thornewill, Sustainability Adviser at the Berkeley Group, spoke about Berkeley Southern’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility policies. Sustainability is very important to the Berkeley Group and is incorporated into the company’s long term plan to ensure that the company can run more efficiently and continue to operate long-term.

There is a focus on building homes and environments that are attractive, sustainable and incorporate a lot of green spaces, as a result of all that is being done on sustainability the Berkeley Group have become the first house-builder in Britain to have 500 sites registered by the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

Many different materials and components are needed to build houses, and when making purchasing decisions, the complete life cycle and social impact of materials are considered, and materials are purchased as locally as possible to reduce transportation.

Berkeley are also focusing on addressing the skills gap in the construction industry by working with local colleges and inviting apprentices to gain first-hand understanding of how building sites operate day to day.

Waste is also a major problem for the company with over 500,000 tonnes of waste produced in 2014. Work is being done to minimise the impact of this waste and 94% of waste material produced on site gets recycled and total volume of waste generated has reduced by 12%.

Chris Grammer a Surveyor at the Berkeley Group then spoke about the commercial requirements needed and the process contractors would need to undertake in order to work with Berkeley.

When choosing contractors the process is to look at the company and offering as a whole including sustainability credentials, qualifications,   awards, financial performance and the distance workers will be travelling to the site. The decision is ultimately made on overall value and is not solely done on price.

Berkeley also operate an Innovation Fund which local businesses can apply to for funding in developing new innovative ideas, one example which has recently been successful is a back support for construction site workers. Berkeley are also members of the Supply Chain Sustainability School and encourage their suppliers to benefit from the free support and tools available from the organisation.

The presentations were followed by 1-2-1 appointments between delegates and the team at Berkeley. Event delegates represented businesses providing a range of products and services, including electrical repairs and installations, fire alarms, roofing and construction, carpenters, lighting and paving.

Download the presentations.