The house building process effects the environment through the consumption of land and building resources during the development process. It is our objective to ensure that at the conclusion of a development an attractive and sustainable environment has been created that will continue into the future.

Central to our business model is the availability of suitable sites. Increasingly, planning policy favours the use of brown field sites, particularly in urban areas. Here there is a greater potential to affect neighbouring communities through the building process.

We have a policy to ensure that all of our developments are on brown field sites. This exceeds the current Government target of 60%.

We pay particular attention to ensuring we make environmentally friendly purchases through accredited trade sources. We also ensure that the whole development process is managed in an environmentally sensitive way.

Environmental Purchasing Policy
We are committed to high levels of customer satisfaction by constructing well built sustainable homes and creating communities using designs and materials that respect our heritage and living environment. We recognise that economic, environmental and social responsibilities need to be linked to clear commercial objectives. However we can still achieve this balance by purchasing materials and services that reflect the current code for sustainable homes and BREEAM initiatives. Our environmental purchasing policy is fully supported by all Senior Directors.

Environmental Management Systems
We recognise that we have responsibilities to limit the damage to the environment and also to enhance it. We try and manage this by the following key objectives:

• Improve the quality of land use within towns by redeveloping derelict and brownfield sites and reducing environmental impacts upon local communities. This is assisted by keeping our sites clean and tidy; conserving natural resources and showing consideration for the local ecology, cultural and built heritage.
• We ensure our construction partners adopt controls for preventing air, ground, water and noise pollution.
• By using materials and products from sustainable sources wherever viable and making use of opportunities for waste minimisation, reuse and recycling of materials.
• Ensure that our environmental aims and their importance are communicated to all sub-contractors and suppliers.

Climate Change Policy
Scientists agree that the Earth's climate is being directly affected by human activity, and for many people around the world, these changes are having negative effects.

It is clear in the way we manage our businesses and our lives today will have a profound effect on future generations. Managing the energy in our homes and the way they are constructed will play a significant role in limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

As a developer of new homes we realise that we have a significant role to play in combating climate change and reducing GHG emissions. We believe that climate change is a long term issue and we support informed action to stabilize (GHG) concentrations by achieving sustainable long-term emission reductions at the lowest possible cost.

In particular we focus our efforts on:

• Improving the energy efficiency of our new homes in-line with higher environmental standards.
• Reducing the carbon dioxide emissions from our new homes in keeping with today's standards
• Evaluating the materials we use during the building process. Where suitable and economically viable we will select products which limit harmful GHG emissions both in the manufacture and subsequent use.
• Continuing to inform and encourage our customers to follow practices that have a less harmful effect upon the environment.
• Providing information packs and guidance to the occupiers of our new homes on how to best use our energy saving and carbon reducing equipment and devices