Message from the Sustainability Panel

The Sustainability Panel acts as a “critical friend” to Tarmac, giving advice on how best to address the long-term issues that are embodied in the need for sustainability and alerting the company if it perceives its approach is not aligned with the challenges it faces. It does this chiefly by holding substantial, in-depth discussions with members of the Senior Management Team (including the Chief Executive) which are informed by specific briefings supplied in advance; members of the Panel also meet on a one-to-one basis with key executives and their teams and take up opportunities for site visits.

This year, as a result of Covid restrictions, the Panel had only one full meeting with the Executive Team, which took place on-line, but there were further one-to-one discussions with the Chief Executive. In addition, Panel members had an in-depth briefing session on the company’s new Sustainability Strategy for 2030 and beyond. This took place prior to finalisation of the Strategy and enabled Panel members to express their views on the need for a demanding Strategy grounded in the strengths and values of the company.

Both the meeting and the one-to-one discussions enabled the Chief Executive (who had been appointed at the beginning of the year) to discuss a wide range of topics with the Panel and benefit from their perspective on the major sustainability challenges that exist in the world and Tarmac’s role in addressing them. In turn, Panel members became better-acquainted with the commitment of the Chief Executive and his new senior team to sustainability in Tarmac. Net Zero was just one of the major topics covered. There were also discussions about aggregate extraction in a circular economy, asset management for biodiversity and the development of sustainable solutions as a major business offering.

Panel members also contributed to Tarmac’s work to improve mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. They welcomed the company’s grasp of the issues, shared their experience of successful approaches in other organisations and encouraged engagement in sector-relevant initiatives.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a Tarmac commitment strongly supported by the Panel, who also welcome the knowledge that the same commitment is present within CRH. Panel members expressed their willingness to do what they can to assist Tarmac in becoming a diverse and inclusive organisation.

Regrettably, 2021 was the final year of Panel chairmanship by Penny Shepherd. The Panel and Tarmac joined in thanking Penny for her seven years’ excellent service. New Panel members and a new chair are being appointed in 2022.