The Corporate Responsibility newsletter of VINCI PLC

Société

real success is the success you share

Issue 05 Winter 2008/2009

Information for future issues of Société should be sent to: melanie.mathews@vinci.plc.ukElectronic copies are available on both the VINCI PLC intranet and internet.

, the Corporate Responsibility newsletter of VINCI PLC.Editorial: Melanie Mathews, VINCI PLC, Astral House, Imperial Way, Watford, Hertfordshire WD24 4WW email: melanie.mathews@vinci.plc.uk Web site: www.vinci.plc.uk Circulation: 5,000 copies.Cover image: VINCI PLC Descend for Ascend, page 15.

10 Stradform Donate PC Monitors

4 IntroduCtIon

6 CIvIC InvolvEmEnt

12 CustomErs and supplIErs

14 our pEoplE

17 HEaltH and safEty

18 tHE EnvIronmEnt

13Construction Ambassadors

16VINCI Innovation Awards

6 Community Links Business Day

soCIÉtÉ 05

2 ContEnts

CorpComms Awards 2008vInCI plC has received a 2008 CorpComms award in the category of Best Csr strategy.

Launched in 2005, CorpComms is a publication dedicated to addressing a variety of topical subjects within the field of corporate communication.

More than 250 entries were received for various categories of award, from organisations ranging from small charities to major household names such Sainsbury’s, Cadbury and Centrica.

The judges of the CorpComms Awards included senior personnel from organisations such as Rio Tinto, Cable & Wireless, the Daily Telegraph and the Independent on Sunday. They described our entry as “a comprehensive strategy, clearly embedded and integrated throughout the company”.

Rob MacDiarmid, Business Excellence Manager, collected the award on behalf of the Company. Rob managed the production of VINCI PLC’s first CSR Report and this formed the basis of the award winning entry which was co-ordinated and submitted by Ruth Taylor, Proposals Co-ordinator. From left to right: Sarah Newton (Publisher of CorpComms Magazine), Rob

MacDiarmid (VINCI PLC Business Excellence Manager), David Mitchell (Entertainer and Compere).

3

soCIÉtÉ 05

Bridge to SchoolsConstruction Ambassadors, Angharad Rosser and Naomi Jones of Stradform, recently participated in a Bridge to Schools event organised by ConstructionSkills and the Institution of Civil Engineers. Year 5 pupils at Darren Las Primary School in Mountain Ash built a 15-metre long model of a cable-stayed bridge from plywood and aluminium sections which they were able to walk across upon completion. The event provided key links to the national curriculum as well as helping to develop self confidence and team spirit. You can learn more about becoming a Construction Ambassador on page 14 of this issue of Société.

4

soCIÉtÉ 05

IntroduCtIon

Introductionyou will see from this issue of société that what we previously described as Corporate social responsibility (Csr) has been renamed Corporate responsibility (Cr). this was agreed at the last meeting of the Cr Working Group in order to more accurately reflect the broad scope of vInCI plC’s approach to Cr which extends to all areas of the business and its stakeholders.

Looking ahead to 2009, it has been agreed that the format for the Working Group meetings will change to encourage more active participation by those who have direct involvement within each of the focus areas. This will take the form of centrally co-ordinated CR Teams which will be responsible for improving performance within their allocated focus area. Each Team will have a CR Team Leader who will report back to the CR Working Group.

Other aspects of the existing CR strategy are currently being reviewed, again to further improve performance and refine the VINCI PLC approach. These include:

n development of a formalised business risk evaluation process.

n improved co-ordination and recording of stakeholder engagement.

n development of a community investment strategy.n integration of Taylor Woodrow’s sustainability strateg.yn a programme of CR auditing, assessment and validation.n supply chain performance measurement.n review of customer and supplier satisfaction

questionnaires.

Updates on each of the above will be reported within the CR section of the Company internet and intranet, as well as in future issues of Société.

5

soCIÉtÉ 05

5IntroduCtIon

Community Links Business Day Based in Canning Town, Community Links has been helping children, teenagers and adults in deprived neighbourhoods for over 30 years. The organisation’s Empowerment Programme was one of three projects selected to receive funding from the VINCI Foundation for the City which was set up in May 2002 to encourage Group employees to become involved in initiatives to help the disadvantaged into employment and strengthen the social fabric of local communities.

6 CIvIC InvolvEmEnt

soCIÉtÉ 05

In support of the Empowerment Programme, Michael Bashford, Angela Stanley and Liz Adams from within VINCI PLC’s HR department, organised a Business Day in co-operation with Trishna Shah, Corporate Volunteering Co-ordinator at Community Links. Five young people participated in the event, which started with an introduction to VINCI PLC followed by various workshops covering CV preparation, presentation skills and interview techniques.

Feedback forms were completed at the end of the day and these are some of the comments that were received:

n I learnt the way a business operates and liked the interview help.

n I liked the mock interview because it gives you the chance to review your own skills without being under pressure.

n I learnt about the company and the people involved. I learnt how they all came to be where they are now.

Michael Bashford was assisted at the event by members of Rosser & Russell Maintenance including Rob Goodhew, Sue Gair and Mike Albone.

“A huge thanks to the VINCI PLC volunteer team for all of the time and effort you spent in designing a stimulating and very educational programme and for your incredible enthusiasm and support in working with the young people throughout the day.”Trishna Shah, Corporate Volunteering Co-ordinator, Community Links

The VINCI Foundation selection committee meets regularly throughout the year.

All employees are encouraged to propose projects and apply for financial assistance.

To find out more, visit the Group section of the VINCI intranet www.vinci.net and click onto Fondation d’entreprise pour la Cité.

soCIÉtÉ 05

7CIvIC InvolvEmEnt

City College Norwest Holst is underway with a £10.3 million contract to design and construct a three-storey adult education college next to the Centre for the Built Environment at the Bordesley Green Campus in Birmingham.

Members of the site team installed a waste chute for the Centre’s Tiling department, making it easier for students to transfer debris from the first floor workshops to ground floor level and saving the college in the region of £9,000.

“The donation is a massive help and will free up funds for courses and facilities for students.” Simon Winder, Deputy Director at the Centre

Petchey Academy Early in 2008, Norwest Holst completed a £27 million contract to design and build the Petchey Academy in Hackney, East London. The Company has once again gone beyond its contractual obligation and has purchased two sun canopies at a cost of almost £12,000 for the terrace area.

“Please accept our very warm thanks for this generous support. I take this opportunity to thank you again for the professional and helpful way in which you undertook the construction of the Petchey Academy. You have a right to feel proud of the final outcome!”Chief Executive of the Jack Petchey Foundation, Andrew Billington

Bishopshalt School, Ealing Will Sloan, Norwest Holst Project Quantity Surveyor, attended a sixth form conference at Bishopshalt School in Hillingdon to help mentor students during a two day business enterprise challenge. An ex-pupil of the school, Will had previously taken part in the event himself as a student and this is the third time he has participated as mentor.

The event is run by the Ealing & Hillingdon Education Business Partnership and involves the entire lower sixth form. The aim is to give the students a feel for what working life involves, the challenges of project management, finance, marketing and interaction with different people.

8

soCIÉtÉ 05

CIvIC InvolvEmEnt

Celebrating SuccessNorwest Holst is currently underway with a £29.8 million contract to design and construct a three-storey building as part of the campus redevelopment project at Barnet College.

In recognition of the students and their achievements, the college holds an annual event called Celebrating Success. Last year Steve Norton, Managing Quantity Surveyor, agreed to sponsor a Special Award in the category of Construction. Adam Wells, Contracts Manager, presented the award to Paul Holmes for achieving excellent attendance levels, a high standard of practical work in his subject (bricklaying) and for working hard to help his fellow students. Steve and Adam learnt that Paul had been struggling to find meaningful employment as a result of the downturn in the housing market. By calling upon the assistance of the Company’s supply chain, we are pleased to report that Paul is now back in full time employment as a trainee bricklayer.

Build It! Exhibition Crispin & Borst is currently restoring a 17th century mansion and gardens in Redbridge. Redbridge Museum’s exhibition, called ‘Restoration: Valentines Mansion & Gardens’ features film footage of the restoration project, showing the people involved and the challenges of sensitively restoring a historic landscape whilst preparing it for use in the 21st century.

The Museum’s family exhibition about buildings, places and spaces attracted over 3,700 visitors last summer, with many items for the building site set being supplied

by the London region of Crispin & Borst.

“We developed a very good relationship with C&B when the Museum was filming the development of Valentines Mansion and we were really pleased that they donated these items. They made the exhibition look like a real building site!” A Museum spokesman

soCIÉtÉ 05

CIvIC InvolvEmEnt 9

CIvIC InvolvEmEnt

Stradform Donate PC Monitors Following the update of their IT system, Stradform has donated 24 flat screen monitors to Brackla School in Bridgend. The school is committed to making sure its 250 pupils, aged between three and eleven, have access to computers for a minimum of one hour per week.

“We’re very grateful to Stradform for helping us to give the youngsters we teach the chance to produce their best quality work.” School Headmaster, Peter Jones

Thurrock Swimming Club Thurrock Swimming Club has one of the top swimming squads in the East of England and has been Essex Champion four times in the past five years. One of its members, Katherine Stephens, is the niece of Norwest Holst Senior Site Manager, Steve Williams. Katherine managed to twist her uncle’s arm to ask Norwest Holst to provide branded polo shirts for a special training camp which was attended by 32 members of the Club during October half term at the famous Lignano near Venice. The Lignano is a purpose built facility constructed for the European Student Games in 2005.

10

soCIÉtÉ 05

Thorners Primary School, West Dorset Jeff Williams of Norwest Holst Soil Engineering visited Thorners Primary School at Little Cheney, local to where he lives in West Dorset, to give a short talk to their Science Club on the subject of rocks.

Jeff took along a number of samples of various rocks, minerals, crystals and fossils as well as a core bit to show how boreholes are formed and how core samples are gained.

Taylor Woodrow Art Competition Rosie Dowsing, a Year 7 student from St Clement Danes School was the Supreme Winner of Taylor Woodrow’s 2008 Art Competition. In its fourth year, this annual competition recognises the artistic talent of local students by encouraging them to produce artwork for display in Taylor Woodrow’s Watford Headquarters.

The ‘Invention’ theme attracted 158 entries from five schools. Winners were presented with Harlequin Shopping Centre Vouchers and the winning artwork is also featured in a 2009 calendar, produced by Taylor Woodrow for sale by participating schools as a fundraiser.

The pupils, aged seven and eight, each received a core sample to keep and Jeff received a thank you card from one of the pupils saying how much he had enjoyed the talk and that he would like to be a palaeontologist when he grows up!

soCIÉtÉ 05

CIvIC InvolvEmEnt 11

Constructing Excellence In the last issue of Société, we reported that Stradform was the winner of the innovation category of this year’s Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW) awards for a £17 million contract to build a new divisional headquarters for South Wales Police Authority in Cardiff Bay.

The Company was recently joined by members of the South Wales Police Authority and Capita Symonds to present the project at a Constructing Excellence Breakfast. Attended by around 60 Constructing Excellence representatives, the occasion provided the ideal showcase for Stradform’s approach to collaborative working, supply chain engagement and innovation.

CustomErs and supplIErs

From left to right: Assistant Chief Constable (South Wales Police) – David MorrisChief Executive of Constructing Excellence in Wales – Milica KitsonChief Superintendent – (South Wales Police) Josh JonesAssistant Director of Criminal Justice – (South Wales Police) Barbara RangerConstruction Director, Stradform – Jon James

Warrington Critical Care Unit

This £5.2 million contract comprised the refurbishment of existing wards at Warrington Hospital to provide a 20 bed Critical Care Unit and Ward Support area.

The contract was completed five weeks early and under budget, with £10,000 of savings being passed back to North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

“The programme was completed five weeks ahead of schedule – but with further flexibility, the Principal Supply Chain Partner had allowed the equipment to be installed and commissioned even before final handover of the site. This meant that the unit opened nine weeks ahead of schedule and therefore demonstrates how true partnering using ProCure21 can be effective."Ron Patterson, Project ManagerNorth Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Retail Interiors Awards 2008 PEL Interiors narrowly missed out on winning the Department Store of the Year category at last year’s Retail Interiors Awards. The Company was short-listed for their £12 million contract to fit-out all seven floors of the House of Fraser anchor store in Belfast.

12

soCIÉtÉ 05

The Considerate Constructors Awards are designed to recognise

and reward those who have

demonstrated exceptional levels of consideration against the scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice.

PEL Interiors received a Bronze Award at the 2008 Considerate Constructors Annual National Awards Ceremony in recognition for the work undertaken for Marks and Spencer at their store in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The Company’s ability to operate outside normal retail hours, combined with meticulous planning and execution, ensured the modernisation of the store and the conversion of an existing retail site.

Considerate Constructors Scheme

Working with TescoTaylor Woodrow is one of the Tesco framework suppliers for main contract building services. Since Taylor Woodrow constructed its first store for Tesco in 1985, over 180 projects have been completed with a total value exceeding £875 million.

As an outward sign of the relationship between the two companies, all Taylor Woodrow employees working on Tesco sites have special workwear which reflects Tesco’s corporate identity. The workwear items include blue hard hats and overalls bearing the slogan “Tesco working with Taylor Woodrow”.

In order to more closely align the Tesco values with those of Taylor Woodrow, a leaflet has been produced by Andrew Besant-Roberts, Taylor Woodrow Customer Director with responsibility for the Tesco account. The leaflet is aimed at Tesco employees at all levels and explains in a concise but informative way the longstanding relationship between the two organisations and the values they share.

soCIÉtÉ 05

CustomErs and supplIErs 13

our pEoplE

Construction Ambassadors Construction ambassadors are industry professionals who are supported by the CItB Constructionskills initiative to give young people an insight into construction and to inspire them to pursue a career in the industry.

michelle davies, Business development manager for Cardiff-based stradform, is an active member of the Construction ambassadors programme who has recently encouraged three more stradform employees to commit to the scheme.

We asked michelle to share with us her experience of being a Construction ambassador.

How long have you been in the construction industry and what motivated you to become a Construction Ambassador?

I have been involved in the Construction industry for 25 years and I have always wanted to develop and encourage young people to join the industry. This is definitely what motivated me to become a Construction Ambassador. Being an Ambassador has helped me achieve this aspiration in a more formal and structured way and has been immensely rewarding.

Could you explain what a Construction Ambassador does?

As a Construction Ambassador you will be required to attend three or more events a year. These will vary from careers conventions and seminars to site visits and activity days. You may also be asked to give presentations to small groups of young people and answer any questions about the industry.

Do you receive any support from ConstructionSkills in organising the events?

All these events are professionally arranged by ConstructionSkills’ Education and Careers Advisors. This maximises your involvement in the actual event and minimises the time spent on preparation and organisation.

What personal benefits does being a Construction Ambassador bring?

As well as motivating young people to consider the construction industry, the two-day training course will give you skills that you’ll benefit from throughout your career. You’ll be trained in how to plan, prepare and make presentations, as well as how to communicate effectively with both groups and individuals. More importantly, you’ll be able to share experiences with other Construction Ambassadors and have the knowledge that you’re helping the industry and your own career at the same time.

What about the benefits to the business?

At Stradform we now have three Construction Ambassadors and our company definitely benefits from supporting the Construction Ambassador Programme. It is one of the ways in which we raise our company profile within the industry and, by releasing one of our employees for a few days a year, we actually gain a more skilled individual who will be even more valuable to our business. It also sends a positive message to the rest of our staff that we have their interests, and those of the rest of the industry, at heart.

Michelle Davies, Business Development Manager, Stradform Limited

To find out more about becoming a Construction Ambassador, please feel free to call Michelle on 02920 776 710 or visit the Construction Skills web site www.cskills.org If you then wish to pursue your involvement, please e-mail melanie.mathews@vinci.plc.uk

14

soCIÉtÉ 05

our pEoplE

VINCI PLC Descend for Ascend Last summer, a team from VINCI PLC abseiled from the 80ft tower of St. Mary’s Church in the centre of Watford in aid of ASCEND, an organisation local to our head office, which aims to reduce social deprivation by improving basic skill levels to all adult age groups.

Shuhel Ahmed, Martin Boyle, Alan Gilbert, Theresa Glynn, Sue O’Shea, Sharon Stanbridge and Terri Walsh all plucked up the courage to step out over the edge of the 600 year old church and in doing so raised over £1,000 for ASCEND.

Crispin & Borst Celebrate Newly Qualified Surveyors Following three years of hard study, Crispin & Borst’s Southern Maintenance region celebrated the graduation of five members of staff who now have an HNC in Construction:

n Natalie Gibbsn Lindsay Dennisn Sarah Moselyn David Parryn Daniel Purkis

London to ParisNine Taylor Woodrow employees took part in the 2008 London to Paris Bike Ride in aid of the Richard House Children’s Hospice.

The ride took three days to complete and the team raised over £11,500 for the hospice which is nearly enough to employ two nurses for a year.

soCIÉtÉ 05

15

Three Peaks Challenge A number of our employees regularly take part in the Three Peaks Challenge, but this is the first time a team has been made up entirely of Norwest Holst staff. The nine West Midlands employees completed the challenge to climb Mount Snowdon in Wales, Scarfell Pike in England and Ben Nevis in Scotland (the highest peak in the United Kingdom). Collectively they raised in the region of £4,000 for the Bordesley Detached Project which encourages young people from deprived backgrounds to explore their potential and develop their communication skills.

Innovation AwardsThe aim of the VINCI Innovation Awards is to highlight the potential and capability contained within the VINCI Group and reward employees who devise, develop and implement original solutions.

In 2008, VINCI PLC held its own innovation awards competition for which there were seven award categories.

n Environmentaln Equipment and Toolsn Health and Safetyn Managementn Marketing and Servicesn Materialsn People

Two additional awards will be presented for the innovation that most reduces health and safety risk and the innovation that most improves environmental performance.

The winners of each category will be announced early in the New Year.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the winning entries which will automatically be entered into the main VINCI Innovation Awards scheme. Details of this can be found on the back cover of this issue of Société.

16

soCIÉtÉ 05

IntroduCtIon

our pEoplE

HEaltH & safEty

KPMG Safe Contractor Award 2008 The KPMG Safe Contractor Award 2008 was presented to Kieron Parsons, TCL Granby’s Contracts Manager, by Guy Stallard, Head of Facilities, KPMG Europe LLP. The award went to the Contractor who scored highest under a balanced scorecard assessment in:

n Pre-qualification Questionnaire n Health & Safety Service Level Agreement n Performance Since Last Audit n Contractor Safe Working Systems and Practices Agreement n Health & Safety Contractor Partnering Programme n Contractor Internal Audit n Site Audit

Kings Mill Hospital, MansfieldIn the last issue of Société we reported that the Civil Engineering division’s Spring 2008 Safety Award had been won by the site team at Mansfield MRF who scored an excellent 9 out of 10 in all categories of a Safety Advisor’s Report.

They received a £200 cheque from Norwest Holst Civil Engineering in recognition of this achievement which was matched by the client, Veolia, and presented to the Robin Hood children’s ward at Kings Mill Hospital in Mansfield.

HEaltH and safEty

School Visit to Cheetham Hill Tesco Store Taylor Woodrow recently hosted an educational tour for school children local to the new Tesco store in Cheetham Hill, North Manchester, for which the Company is the design and build contractor.

Twenty-seven Year 6 students took part in the tour, which provided them with a preview of the new 4,738 sq m store and demonstrated the work involved in the operation of a building site, focusing particularly on health and safety.

Tesco at Cheetham Hill is the first Environmental Format store in the UK.

soCIÉtÉ 05

IntroduCtIon

17

tHE EnvIronmEnt

Silver Green Apple AwardThe Green Apple Awards are now in their fifteenth year and attracted more than 500 nominations last year. They are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-activist, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world.

Mark Ebdon, Systems Manager for Stradform, was recently presented with a Silver Green Apple Award for environmental best practice at the Company’s £17 million project to build a new Divisional Police Headquarters on the site of the former police station at Cardiff Bay.

Ground studies revealed a high level of contamination due to long term storage of petrol and diesel. High Vacuum Extraction (HVE) was used to remove the contamination, a system rarely applied to construction operations, but which enabled Stradform to commence construction whilst remediation work was being undertaken. It also avoided the need to excavate the entire site and the subsequent transportation to landfill.

Another sustainable feature of the construction process was that the demolition of the former police station provided 2,500 tons of hardcore which was re-used in the construction of the piling mats.

In addition to the value-engineering element of the contract, Stradform proposed an innovative solar lighting system that has never been used before, whereby a series of ducts will capture daylight from the atrium roof and transfer it to the prison cells via a series of 18 metre solatubes and lightboxes.

Stradform were presented with their Green Apple Award at the House of Commons. They will also be invited to join the National Green Heroes, an elite group of environmental achievers who use their experience to help thousands of others, and the environment, around the world.

BREEAM AwardNorwest Holst’s student accommodation project at Lancaster University has won a BREEAM Award in the Multi-Residential category. The BREEAM awards recognise the highest-scoring buildings certified under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.

Not only are the design and materials of the buildings based on sustainable principles, the carbon footprint per student is 25% less than the target CO2 emission rates and insulation is up to 50% better than is required by current building regulations.

Mark Ebdon, Systems Manager for Stradform

18

soCIÉtÉ 05

VINCI Environmental Reporting and Carbon Footprinting At last year’s annual VINCI Convention in Lisbon, a series of high level environmental indicators were presented with a view to monitoring the environmental performance of VINCI, worldwide.

Since then, VINCI PLC has been working closely with other VINCI companies to determine a set of core environmental performance indicators. These have now been finalised and will be mandatory for all VINCI companies and subsidiaries in 2009. They include energy and water use, renewable energy, the extent of environmental certification, environmental training records and project awards (such as BREEAM, CEEQUAL).

VINCI PLC is already in a good position with regard to environmental reporting, having launched a programme for this to all businesses early in 2008.

VINCI PLC signs up to the “Construction Commitment: Halving Waste to Landfill”The Government’s Strategy for Sustainable Construction clearly identifies waste as a major area for action and halving waste to landfill by 2012 is now a firmly established target for the construction sector.

The construction sector currently wastes around £1.5 billion in unused materials and sends some 25 million tons of waste to landfill every year.

In October 2008, VINCI PLC Chief Executive John Stanion, attended the launch of the “Construction Commitment: Halving waste to Landfill” in Westminster.

The Construction Commitment: “We commit to playing our part in halving the amount of construction, demolition and excavation waste going to landfill by 2012. We will work to adopt and implement standards for good practice in reducing waste, recycling more and increasing the use of recycled and recovered materials.”

The commitment is voluntary, whereby those involved in the construction industry can publicly commit to corporate waste reduction targets.

VINCI PLC and its subsidiary companies will be setting targets for waste reduction for 2009 and beyond.

Carbon Disclosure ProjectSpecialist VINCI PLC subsidiary, TCL Granby, has completed the first submission by a VINCI PLC company to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an international not-for-profit organisation which collates carbon data from many of the largest companies in the world. BT Group, TCL Granby’s biggest client, nominated them via the CDP Corporate Supply Chain Programme. Initiated in 2007, this is now the world’s biggest database of greenhouse gas emissions data.

Mark Ebdon, Systems Manager for Stradform

soCIÉtÉ 05

tHE EnvIronmEnt 19

Sarah Walker, VINCI PLC HR Advisor01923 470285 email: sarah.walker@vinci.plc.uk