Sustainability to be a priority, says housebuilder Barratt

Volume housebuilder, Barratt, has made fresh calls to its suppliers to ensure that they place sustainability as a top priority moving forward in the wake of the pandemic.

The firm focussed on its environmental agenda during its recent Supply Chain Conference 2020 which was held virtually this year, and saw 200 of the housebuilder’s key suppliers in attendance. John Adams, the company’s group procurement director, lead the charge for the supply chain to focus on improving its sustainability performance.

The conference featured speakers including housing minister Christopher Pincher – who, Barratt said, emphasised the importance of the green agenda – Savills’ head of residential research Lucian Cook, and Barratt’s chairman and CBI vice president John Allan, as well as David Thomas, Barratt’s CEO and Steven Boyes, chief operating officer.

With Barratt ramping up its build and sales rates following lockdown, the company said all its suppliers were asked to continue reducing their packaging waste and provide more carbon reduction data.

The firm centred its conference on “sustainability in a coronavirus world,” with the housebuilder in June announcing its science-based carbon reduction targets. A “crucial element” of achieving its targets, it said, was working with suppliers.

Barratt outlined two of its sustainability targets: for suppliers to provide plastic and packaging data to help the company reduce construction waste by 20% by 2025, and to give their “Scope 1 and Scope 2” carbon emissions data.

The company emphasised the importance of good quality carbon emissions data in reducing its indirect “Scope 3” carbon emissions by 11% by 2030.

Barratt also used the conference to ask the supply chain to focus on “speed of delivery” to tackle the backlog of customer care remedial work built up during lockdown. “This is a key focus for Barratt now that it is back building and selling homes again,” it said. It appealed to suppliers to “resolve jobs at the first visit”.

Adams said, “This year’s virtual conference was a real success in bringing together key suppliers to hear about our priorities now that the business is back building again following lockdown.”