Hill & Smith PLC - Our Approach

Our Approach to Sustainability

Following our purpose of creating sustainable infrastructure and safe transport through innovation, we are committed to ensuring that our Sustainability strategy provides the foundation for the successful delivery of our Group strategy and business model.

DETERMINING our Approach

2023 has been an exciting year in Hill & Smith’s sustainability journey. We baselined our full scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions during 2022 and this data was verified by Bureau Veritas in June 2023, with limited assurance validation provided under the ISAE 3000 standard.

Having applied to be a signatory of the Science Based Targets initiative (‘SBTi’) ‘Business Ambition to 1.5°C’ in August 2021, we submitted our proposed near and long-term targets to the SBTi in July 2023 for approval. We are pleased to report that these were approved in December. Our plans to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions to net-zero by 2040 are on track as demonstrated by our costed plan on page 40 within our 2023 Annual Report and Accounts.

Our risk rating scores have improved over the last two years, with our CDP assessment score improving from a ‘D’ in 2021 to a ‘B’ in 2023. As sustainability reporting and disclosure requirements are increasing, we intend to conduct another materiality assessment in 2024 to ensure that our priority areas are still aligned with these developments and will incorporate any new topics, such as biodiversity, into our 2024 reporting.

Sustainability is a structural growth driver for our business - our products and services make infrastructure more sustainable and increase transport safety.

Dimension	Category	SASB matrix		H&S materiality study	ESG Focus
		Engineering & Construction	Road Transport
Environment	Ecological Impacts	.
	Waste and hazardous materials management
	Waste and wastewater management
	Air quality			.
	Energy Management		.		.
	GHG Emissions		.	.	.
Social Capital	Selling practices and product labelling
	Customer welfare
	Product quality and safety	.
	Access and affordability
	Data security
	Customer privacy
	Human rights and community relations
Human Capital	Employee engagement, diversity and inclusion			.	.
	Talent development/employment practices			.	.
	Employee health and safety	.	.	.	.
	Labour practices
Business model and innovation	Physical impacts on climate change				.
	Sustainable products				.
	Materials sourcing and efficiency
	Supply chain management
	Business model resilience
	Product design and lifecycle management	.
Leadership and governance	Systemic risk management
	Critical incident risk management		.
	Management of the legal and regulatory environment
	Competitive behaviour
	Business ethics	.		.	.

OUR SUSTAINIBILITY PRIORITIES

Sustainability is a structural growth driver for our business - our products and services make infrastructure more sustainable and increase transport safety.

We have identified seven key priorities for our sustainability plans, across three key focus areas.

Our sustainability priorities were identified following a comprehensive materiality assessment carried out in 2021. We have maintained the same priorities for 2022 and 2023, however we will continue to review and adapt as our sustainability strategy evolves, and plan to conduct another materiality assessment in 2024.

Our Executive Chair, Alan Giddins, has Board responsibility for sustainability and is also a member of the Sustainability Committee. The Sustainability Committee, led by our Group Head of Sustainability, Lucinda Farrington-Parker, works with our operating companies to create actionable plans with measurable near and mediumterm targets. We are delighted to report that Lucinda was accepted as a Fellow member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (‘IEMA’) in 2023, the highest level of professional membership available in IEMA and demonstrating significant professional contribution, experience and expertise.

The Sustainability Committee also includes the Group CFO, our Group Presidents and a number of other Group employees who are driving our sustainability strategy forward. The Committee reports to the Board on a six-monthly basis, providing updates on progress made against targets.