July 15th marks the UN’s World Youth Skills Day. It’s crucial that we recognise the importance of handing down the skills we often take for granted to the next generation, as it’s ultimately them who will guide us forward into the future.
This year’s theme is “Youth Skills for Peace & Development”, which highlights the need to equip our youth with the necessary skills for fostering a more inclusive and sustainable future. To us, this begs an immediate question: what are we doing to help?
When it comes to nurturing a supportive and inclusive workplace, we’ve made strides to ensure this is consistently the case. Our Disability Confident Committed (DCC) employer status highlights our commitment to creating an accessible recruitment process and supportive work environment no matter what.
We also make it no secret that supporting apprentices and graduates is of paramount importance to us. Since our founding over twenty years ago, we have taken in dozens of them, and provided experience both on and off-site to give them the knowledge they need to thrive in our industry. Many apprentices and graduates who spend time working with our business go on to find successful careers here at Howards, and we’re proud to staff a workforce where many of them take lead roles on our various schemes across the country.
We also take great measures to ensure the work we perform is done as sustainably as possible, and have continually adopted this as a guiding principle behind everything we do. Promoting these practices now means a cleaner, more environmentally friendly future for those who come after us, and sets an example that we are confident the next generation will take on themselves to create a better planet for everyone.
June 5th marks World Environment Day, a worldwide event that recognises the crucial role of preserving our natural world. This year’s theme focuses on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience, championed by the UN under the hashtag #GenerationRestoration.
Tackling This Year’s Environmental Theme
At Howard Civil Engineering, we deeply value our environment, and continuously strive to work in the cleanest and most efficient manner possible. Our commitment extends beyond our projects; we eagerly support organisations dedicated to environmental preservation. One such partnership is with St Nicks, a remarkable group we teamed up with in April to bolster their restoration and preservation efforts.
St Nicks, based in York, manages a 24-acre nature reserve, open to the public year-round. Their Green Corridors initiative is particularly inspiring, as it aims to reconnect and restore green spaces across York, fostering thriving habitats for key species. This summer, we’ll be embarking on more work alongside St Nicks, so keep an eye out!
Our Broader Efforts
Our involvement with St Nicks is just one facet of our broader environmental initiatives for 2024. For instance, where possible we opt to use IBAA (Incinerator Bottom Ash aggregate) instead of primary aggregates. On one project alone we’ve saved over 44,000kg of CO2 (an impressive 6.47 kg/t), and we’re just getting started.
Since the start of the year, we’ve offset nearly 200,000 litres of fuel, equating to over 500 tonnes of CO2e. Our investment in solar panels at our head office in Leeds has also been immensely beneficial, saving the CO2 equivalent of planting 33 trees. Additionally, we utilise solar CCTV and ECO welfare wherever possible, and recycle 96% of our construction and excavation waste, significantly reducing landfill contributions.
A Commitment To Sustainability Education
Moreover, we’re committed to educating the next generation about sustainable practices, in particular advocating for a circular economy. This model emphasises sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling materials and products for as long as possible. With the current environmental challenges our planet faces, imparting this foundational knowledge to school children is vital.
We invite you to join us this year in making a difference, whether through small actions like separating your recyclables, or larger efforts such as supporting local groups like St Nicks. Every contribution counts – it all adds up!
To learn more about St Nicks and the work they do, click here. For more about our ongoing sustainability efforts, click here.
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