Sustainability Report 2021

Sustainability 

Report 2021 

For the reporting period 1st November 2020 

to 31st October 2021 

keepmoat.com

CONTENTS SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODEL Sustainability Report 03 

Contents 

Powering UK homebuilding 

through partnership 

Sustainable business model 03 

Sustainability highlights 04 

Chief Executive Officer’s update 06 

Defining priorities 09 

Governance 10 

Sustainable cities and communities 12 

Good health and wellbeing 20 

Quality education 22 

Decent work and economic growth 24 

Industry, innovation and infrastructure 26 

Responsible consumption and production 28 

Climate action 30 

At Keepmoat Homes we think and act beyond bricks 

and mortar – sustainability is built into our vision: Building 

Communities and Transforming Lives. 

As well as creating better places for people to live across 

England and Scotland, we know our success depends on 

playing our part in building the sustainable communities 

and enhanced environments our customers and partners 

value. 

Working with our partners we have built thousands of new 

homes across the country, 69% of them on brownfield 

sites, transforming them into thriving new communities. 

As a leading homebuilder for first time buyers, we help 

people take their first step on the property ladder with 

our average selling price at £179,000. 

Above all, we are committed to delivering more of the 

high quality, multi-tenure, new homes the UK needs 

at prices that people can afford. In the last year, we 

maintained a 5-star customer satisfaction score with 

the Home Builders Federation. 

Creating sustainable value through the development process 

(Building Communities. Transforming Lives) 

Life on land 32 

Partners, awards and accreditations 34 

Performance data 36 

Purchase 

brownfield land at 

low cost in areas of 

social, environmental 

and economic need 

Establish 

sustainable solutions 

with development 

partners and local 

communities 

Deliver great homes 

in great places at a 

low average sales 

price to a stable first 

time buyer market 

Create lasting social, 

environmental 

and economic 

value during the 

construction phase

SUSTAINABILITY HIGHLIGHTS Sustainability Report 05 

2021 Sustainability 

highlights 

Key corporate achievements this year 

Environmental Social Governance 

38 

mental health first 

aiders in position 

6% 

employees on ‘earn 

and learn’ schemes 

£200.8m 

social value delivered 

98% 

waste diverted from 

landfill 

Committed to set science-based 

carbon emissions targets 

Joined Race to Zero, committing to 

go net zero before 2050 

Audited purchased timber for 

FSC and PEFC certification 

Delivered a 5-month COP26 

engagement campaign 

Embedded ecological 

enhancement and biodiversity net 

gain assessment into development 

processes. 

Developed national Social Value 

Standards 

Introduced a sustainability value 

reporting tool 

Social Value Management 

system certified by Social Value 

International 

Achieved Gold Status of the 

5% Club 

Retained Investors in People 

status. 

Transformed our governance 

structure 

Created a new sustainability 

function 

Reported on the year in our first 

sustainability report 

Partnered with the Supply Chain 

Sustainability School and gained 

Gold status as a member 

Joined the Future Homes 

Taskforce. 

94% 

of sub-contract spend 

with businesses 

accredited to CHAS 

Advanced 

20% 

operational carbon 

reduction per home 

since 2019 

Our social and economic footprint 

£200.8m 

Social value generated 

£49.9m 

Other 

contributions 

98% 

homes EPC rating 

of B or higher 

Read page 9 for more information on the 

UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

69% 

of homes built 

on regenerated 

brownfield land 

£1.48m 

Environmental 

• Diverting waste from 

landfill 

• Providing new 

dwellings with access 

to waterbodies. 

£1.04m 

Social 

• NEETs employed 

• Apprentices 

employed 

• Employee diversity 

training 

• Employee wellbeing 

programmes 

• Employment support 

for youth 

• And more... 

£198.3m 

Economic 

• Spend with local 

suppliers 

• Employing local 

people directly 

• Local employment 

through the supply 

chain 

• Training through our 

graduate scheme 

• Hyperfast 

broadband. 

£49.9m 

contribution towards 

the provision of 

affordable housing

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S UPDATE Sustainability Report 07 

In the year that COP26 took place in 

Glasgow, we’ve taken further steps 

to embed social and environmental 

sustainability in everything we do. 

The government is clear that housing will play a pivotal 

role in decarbonising Britain. This poses technical, supply 

chain and skills challenges for our industry, but it is also 

a great opportunity to attract new layers of people into 

our workforce and sell the benefits of energy efficient 

new builds to our customers. As a homebuilder which 

specialises in working with public sector partners, often 

on sites with high sustainability requirements, we are 

well placed to play a leading role in what will be a 

transformation in housebuilding over the next five years 

and beyond. 

Our pilots of smart homes to reduce energy bills at West 

Gorton with Salford University, and the low carbon homes 

we are about to build at Parklands Village at Westonsuper-Mare 

provide a steady stream of opportunities to 

learn and prepare for the 2025 Future Homes Standard. 

And our focus on delivering social value across our 

developments ensures that we, together with our suppliers 

and sub-contractors, are providing opportunities for a new 

generation of builders who will provide the warm, efficient 

homes of the future in sustainable communities in thriving 

economies. This goes to the heart of our Vision – Building 

Communities, Transforming Lives. We have achieved a 

Social Value Management Certificate Level 1 in recognition 

of our developing expertise on social value, and are the 

only major national developer to hold this accolade. 

These measures put us in a strong position going forward 

for the short, medium and long term when combined 

with the commitments we have made this year to set 

science-based carbon emission targets and to go net zero 

by at least 2050. Our partnership with the Supply Chain 

Sustainability School will increase the capacity of our 

suppliers along this journey and provide excellent learning 

opportunities for our directly employed colleagues too. 

This is why the social side of sustainability is so important 

to Keepmoat – globally there are great environmental 

challenges but ultimately it is people that must meet those 

challenges, through skills, knowledge, innovation and 

ensuring that solutions are accessible to all. At the time of 

writing the pressure that high energy prices are putting 

on households is highlighting the ever more visible links 

between social, economic, and environmental issues. 

This Sustainability report - Keepmoat’s first - aims to clearly 

and transparently reflect how Keepmoat is considering 

all these issues and performing against them. I would be 

delighted to receive your comments on it. 

https://www.keepmoat.com/contact-us 

“Globally there are great 

environmental challenges 

but ultimately it is people 

that must meet those 

challenges, through skills, 

knowledge, innovation 

and ensuring that solutions 

are accessible to all.” 

Tim Beale 

Chief Executive Officer

DEFINING PRIORITIES Sustainability Report 09 

Working hand in hand with stakeholders 

Our Sustainability Strategy is based on the material sustainability issues which 

matter most to the people around us. 

UK Sustainable Development 

Goals (SDGs) 

A key part of setting this strategy was our materiality 

assessment conducted in FY19, a detailed stakeholder 

consultation with 135 internal and external stakeholders. This 

included our employees, clients, investors, partners, the third 

charitable sector and members of the local community. 

By analysing the quantitative and qualitative responses 

from our stakeholders, we developed a materiality matrix, 

which gave us a clear indication of the importance of key 

sustainability issues to our stakeholders. We subsequently 

used this insight to refine our strategy and align our approach 

to eight of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

Importance to stakeholders 

Clean energy 

Sustainable travel 

More information on our materiality process is available in our 

Sustainability Strategy document. 

Refreshing our analysis 

In recognition that the COVID-19 crisis may have changed 

the priorities of many of our stakeholders we will be 

refreshing our materiality analysis in FY22 via an independent 

stakeholder consultation conducted by the Grantham Centre 

for Sustainable Futures. 

Transparency 

Biodiversity 

Accessible and adaptable homes 

Community regeneration 

Zero net waste 

Climate change resilience 

Accredited management systems 

Employee wellbeing 

Community wellbeing 

Community training 

MMC 

Supply chain competency 

Sustainable procurement 

Youth education 

Pollution prevention 

Employee development 

Sustainable 

developments 

and homes 

Affordable homes 

Climate change mitigation 

Health and safety 

The background 

The United Nations has defined 17 Sustainable 

Development Goals (SDGs); a blueprint that helps us work 

together and contribute to a better and more sustainable 

future. As well as considering the environment, the SDGs 

address key social challenges, including inequality, poverty, 

education and economic prosperity. They also ultimately 

provide a framework for nations and businesses to identify 

common purposes and opportunities, showing how local, 

industry and global action can be interwoven. 

Eight SDGs. One lasting commitment 

to sustainability 

We take a holistic approach to the delivery of sustainability 

at Keepmoat and work to address global sustainability 

priorities on a local level. By focussing on eight material 

SDGs, we have developed a vision of sustainability 

activity that helps us to contribute to global 

and local priorities. This approach also 

helps us to refine our focus and 

ensure we make a material 

difference to the people and 

places around us, every day. 

A global approach on a local level 

The challenges addressed by SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and 

Communities) are key focusses for our business. Seven other 

SDGs inform our corporate vision and strategy, prioritising 

the material sustainability issues that matter most to 

Keepmoat Homes and our partners. 

Over the following pages, we’ve included case studies that 

highlight our holistic approach to achieving sustainability 

and making communities inclusive, safe, resilient and 

sustainable (the key focuses of SDG 11). These are followed 

by specific updates on our progress in FY21, relating to each 

of our seven goals and the associated SDGs. 

Local workforce 

Staff volunteering 

Diversity and inclusion 

Importance to Keepmoat Homes

GOVERNANCE Sustainability Report 11 

Governance and management 

During the year we changed our governance structure and the way we manage 

sustainability to enable lines of responsibility that cover all functions of the organisation. 

This is creating a clearer pathway of decision making and accountability from our main 

business operations, to our sustainability department and Board. 

A Sustainability Committee of the Executive with crossfunctional 

oversight now ensures a full-focus on sustainability 

each quarter at the highest levels of the organisation. 

Alongside this change, we have created an entirely new 

sustainability function, including new positions of Head of 

Sustainability and Corporate Sustainability Adviser. 

At the community level our Social Value Managers remain as 

part of our local Land and Partnerships Teams coordinating 

delivery of social value locally, with strong channels of 

communication via a monthly Social Value Working Group. 

IT 

Technical 

Construction 

Commercial 

Supply Chain 

Land 

Social Value 

Managers 

RMT 

Finance 

HR 

Legal 

Comms 

EHS 

Corporate Sustainability 

Adviser 

• Reporting and benchmarking 

• Communications and awards 

• Coordinating social value activity 

• Performance monitoring 

• Bidding support 

• Carbon/climate mitigation 

Delivery of sustainability improvements is embedded within 

day-to-day business activities in our regional businesses and 

is supported by regular sustainability messaging through 

our ‘Hub’ intranet site, weekly ‘Monday Matters’ employee 

newsletter and ‘Home’, our seasonal employee magazine. 

A training plan is in place for the delivery of the most relevant 

sustainability issues for the senior leaders of our business, 

including the Executive, making the most of our partnership 

with the Supply Chain Sustainability School. 

Investors and Board of Directors 

CEO 

Head of Sustainability 

Senior Environmental 

Sustainability Advisor 

CEO and Executive 

Executive and Sustainability 

Committee 

Sustainability Steering Committee 

Sustainability Function 

Social Value 

Working Group 

• Environmental investigation 

• ISO 14001:2015 management 

• Auditing and inspections 

• Operational environmental support 

• Training and briefings 

FOCUS 

Environmental 

& Social Governance 

Strategy & delivery 

Social Value Managers 

Land & Partnerships function 

• Social Value bid support 

• Maintain regional partnerships 

• Deliver social value commitments 

• Monitor performance 

• Delivering social value through 

supply chains 

Taskforce for Climate-related 

Financial Disclosures (TCFD) 

Keepmoat is progressing adoption of the recommendations of TCFD in reporting 

disclosures. While full adoption of TCFD is in progress, the below table provides a 

summary indication of readiness as part of our journey of progression. 

Governance Strategy Risk management Metrics and targets 

Disclose the 

organisation’s 

governance around 

climate-related risks and 

opportunities. 

Sustainability risks and 

opportunities, including 

those around climate 

change are raised to 

the Board through the 

Executive Sustainability 

Committee (see page 10). 

Management and 

assessment of climate 

risks and opportunities 

is via the Sustainability 

Steering Committee that 

liaises closely with function 

leaders as issues develop. 

Disclose the actual and 

potential impacts of 

climate-related risks 

and opportunities 

on the organisation’s 

businesses, strategy, and 

financial planning 

where such information 

is material 

Our Annual Report 2021 

references climate risks in 

the report on physical risks 

including construction-side 

risks from drier summers 

and wetter winters. It also 

references development 

flood risk mitigation in 

the form of sustainable 

drainage systems. 

Independent climate 

risk reports have been 

undertaken during FY21 

and we are currently 

working to apply different 

climate scenarios to these 

analyses. 

This sustainability report 

starts to outline the early 

elements of our carbon 

reduction strategy including 

mitigation opportunities. 

Disclose how the 

organisation identifies, 

assesses, and manages 

climate-related risks. 

Climate-related risks 

are manged through 

our ISO14001:2015 

management system – 

climate risks are assessed in 

relationship to organisation 

context, interested parties 

and compliance obligations. 

This process identifies 

likelihood and severity 

of risks, responsibilities, 

mitigations and controls. 

Business functions 

contribute to identification 

and management of 

these risks through the 

Sustainability Steering 

Committee, with risks 

assigned an ‘owner’ 

ensuring that mitigations 

and controls are actioned. 

Residual risks are reassessed, 

after which 

significant risks can be 

escalated to the corporate 

risk register, ensuring 

Executive oversight. 

Metrics and targets 

Disclose the metrics and 

targets used to assess 

and manage relevant 

climate-related risks and 

opportunities where 

such information is 

material. 

Keepmoat records and 

reports a number of metrics 

on carbon emissions 

(scope 1, 2 and 3). The 

business also reports on 

climate adaptation metrics 

including the proportion 

of developments with 

SUDs ponds and energy 

efficiency (EPC) ratings 

of homes. See this on 

pages 36 to 39. 

At the time of writing our 

carbon reduction target 

is to reduce scope 

1 & 2 emissions by 3% per 

annum. The business has 

pledged to set a sciencebased 

carbon emission 

target via the SBTi, and 

has joined the Race to 

Zero with a pledge to be 

net zero carbon by at least 

2050. 

RMT and EHS relate to Regional Management Team and Environment, Health and Safety function.

SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES Sustainability Report 13 

Delivering a better 

tomorrow for everyone 

As well as creating safer, more sustainable places for people to live, we’re working 

with our partners to create and improve places, which in turn improve economic, 

environmental and social outcomes. 

Throughout the development process positive outcomes for 

communities, partners and our other stakeholders enable us 

to develop strong relationships with public sector partners, 

purchase brownfield land at low cost and deliver positive 

environmental social and economic outcomes creating 

thriving new communities. 

£200.8m 

SOCIAL VALUE GENERATED 

69% 

58% 

39% 

Completed home sales on 

brownfield land 

Home sales completed in 

regeneration areas (the bottom 

two deciles of Indices of Multiple 

Deprivation) 

Homes are affordable 

Our goals 

• To address the national housing shortage 

through the construction of affordable 

homes 

• To deliver sustainable community and 

regeneration initiatives around Keepmoat 

Homes developments. 

Our progress in FY21 

• 39% of our homes sold to affordable 

housing providers at a discount worth 

£49.9m 

• New social value reporting system 

introduced. £200.8m social value 

generated 

• Level 1 Social Value Management 

certification achieved. 

“We use the term social value to 

describe the environmental, social and 

economic benefits generated through 

the outcomes of our business activities 

both locally and nationally over the 

short, medium and long-term.” 

Our strength in this area comes through our team of expert 

Social Value Managers that understand local priorities and 

focus on engaging stakeholders at all stages to understand 

and deliver the outcomes they want to see. 

Over the past year we have focused on moving from local 

level excellence on key projects to furthering national 

consistency in our delivery of social value outcomes. 

During the year: 

• We created a Social Value Working Group that 

shares best practice and implements national-level 

improvements 

• Created national Social Value Standards incorporating 

best practice approaches 

• Set up a sustainability and social value reporting tool to 

improve the way we collect data – showing £200.8m in 

social value generated through all our business activities 

• Delivered training on social value to the industry, via the 

Supply Chain Sustainability School 

• Successfully upgraded to the Social Value Management 

Certificate Level 1.


Case study: 

Riverbank View 

(Charlestown, Salford) 

Charlestown is a Keepmoat development on 

a brownfield site in the centre of Salford. In 

collaboration with Salford City Council, we’re helping 

to regenerate the area; and providing training, job 

opportunities and an improved environment. 

Starting in 2016, this site exemplifies our 

longstanding competence in the integration of 

sustainability into our partnership offering and 

how it supports our business success. 

This approach differentiates us from a traditional 

housebuilder and helps to ensure we address 

the biggest societal and environmental issues 

facing us. 

Working in partnership with Salford City Council 

and Inspiring Communities Together, we’re 

helping to regenerate the area; providing training, 

jobs and an improved environment. This resulted 

in the development winning the 2018 Social 

Value UK award for its work with young people 

not in employment education or training (NEETs). 

Social impact 

42 apprentices through the build partnership 

78% local labour 

177 weeks of work experience and 2,800 under- 

25s engaged in social and economic activities 

240 participants attending training, obtaining 

460 qualifications and industry certifications 

497 children supported with holiday hunger 

Number of local shops increased 3 fold. 

Partner endorsement (Salford City Council) 

“Keepmoat Homes are a stand out construction 

employer for their range of employment and 

training programmes with outstanding outcomes 

all delivered with a deep understanding of 

effective partnership working and a real passion 

for helping some of those people who need the 

help the most. Fantastic!” 

Placemaking 

15 hectare brownfield development of 425 

homes, located in a regeneration area, 

13% (2 hectares) green space and play areas 

s106 and affordable housing 

25% (85 homes) affordable housing 

Status 

Commenced on site in 2016. 

Environmental impact 

Sand martin nesting colony created on the 

river bank 

Shortlisted for the BIG Biodiversity Award for 

our horticultural project working with young 

people not in employment education or training. 

99% of waste diverted from landfill.


Case study: 

Hull Citywide Developer 

Partnership 

The Hull Citywide Developer Partnership (HCDP) is a 

consortium of developers that includes Keepmoat, 

Strata, Home Group and Priority Space, appointed to 

undertake the regeneration of the Preston Road area. 

The Preston Road area is a true example of how 

the local community, the Council and the private 

sector can come together to regenerate an area, 

stimulate private investment and deliver truly 

transformational change. 

Located in one of the lowest 1% of deprived 

areas nationally, the area has low levels of skills 

(nearly half the population have no qualifications) 

and wages, high levels of unemployment and 

benefit reliance, poor health and high levels 

of crime. 

An extensive community engagement and skill 

programme has delivered huge change and 

regeneration in a turbulent and challenging 

environment. 

Placemaking 

Construction of 1,200 new homes, refurbishment 

of 365 existing homes, new secondary school 

and commercial units £500m private investment 

in the area. 


41% (279 homes) affordable housing. 

Status 

Commenced on site in 2015 with 680 homes 

delivered to date. 

Partner endorsement (Hull City Council) 

“Keepmoat Homes is a long term strategic 

partner for the Council delivering regeneration 

programmes and housing growth across the city. 

Job creation and providing training opportunities 

are a big part of the Councils requirements when 

delivering new homes. Keepmoat offer a range 

of employment and training programmes which 

benefit the local economy and local people. This 

work with local communities and generating long 

lasting benefit was reflected in a recent award 

from Social Value UK, Excellent!” 

Social impact 

£15m of social value generated 41% reduction 

in unemployment 

22% reduction in anti-social behaviour 

672 jobs created or safeguarded 98 new 

apprenticeships 

44 trainees and 50 work experience placements 

65% local labour 

£1m of funding secured from DFE and CITB to 

create a new construction skills hub. 


Green spaces and infrastructure across sites 

supporting flood mitigation, biodiversity and 

wellbeing 

97% landfill diversion.


Case study: 

Chase Farm, Gedling 

Chase Farm is a Keepmoat development on a 

brownfield former colliery site. Through our long 

term partnership with Homes England and Gedling 

Borough Council, we’re transforming the formerly 

contaminated site; providing affordable homes, jobs 

and environmental enhancements. 

Chase Farm is a great example of how working 

with partners we invest in local communities and 

deliver local benefits. 

We are providing affordable homes by 

regenerating a large brownfield site, are 

facilitating delivery of a major infrastructure 

project and creating connections into nature for 

the local community. 

Social impact 

4 work placements 

414 onsite training weeks 

17 new jobs created 

62 qualifications 

Establishment of community investment fund. 

Placemaking 

50 hectare brownfield development for 925 

homes, a primary school, a local retail area, 

amenity space, community investment and 

substantial infrastructure. 


10% affordable housing target and currently 

delivering 25% on Phase 1. 

Status 

Commenced on site in May 2017 with 219 

homes delivered to date including fully volumetric 

modular homes. 


Green spaces and infrastructure across sites 

supporting flood mitigation, biodiversity and 

wellbeing 

97% landfill diversion. 

Partner endorsement (Gedling Borough Council) 

“In addition to providing much needed new 

and affordable homes for the local community, 

Keepmoat have been partnering with local 

community stakeholders through the provision 

of apprenticeships, site-based work experience 

opportunities and facilitating interactive 

workshops with local schools. The purpose of 

these is to raise aspirations of local young people 

and provide them with opportunities to find 

out more information about careers within the 

construction sector.”

GOOD HEALTH AND WELLBEING Sustainability Report 21 

Looking after our people 

and communities 

We’re making people a priority and supporting the health and wellbeing of our 

people, our sub-contractors and our communities. 

38 

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDERS 

ACROSS THE BUSINESS, 

COVERING ALL REGIONS 

Our goals 

• To align our neighbourhood wellbeing 

initiatives to our partners’ key priorities 

• To support health and wellbeing 

across our team and supply chain, and 

continually reduce sickness absence. 


• 6 Wellbeing case studies developed 

• Investors in People accreditation 

maintained 

• 38 Mental Health First Aiders across the 

business, covering all regions. 

We believe that protecting the physical and mental health of 

people should be a priority for all responsible businesses. 

COVID-19 has challenged us to assess and rethink how we 

support our people and the communities we live and work 

in, while maintaining social distancing and safe working 

conditions. We have subsequently focussed on two key 

areas. 

1. Workforce health and wellbeing 

KeepWell, a key part of our employee value proposition, is 

a broad package of support which includes a mental health 

toolkit, healthy living advice calendar and communications, 

and medical insurance. It has been even more important 

over the past two years supporting our people through 

the COVID-19 challenges. Available to all direct employees, 

the support delivered through KeepWell this year was 

worth £144,782 in terms of social value to our employees. 

We have 38 mental health first aiders in place across the 

business supporting all our regions. 

“We are proud to have retained our 

Investors in People accreditation after 

an assessment during the year, which 

noted a culture of collaboration within 

the company: ‘People talk with great 

respect and admiration for each other 

and love working together to get 

things done’.” 

With feedback from office-based employees that they 

prefer a balance between working at home and the office, 

our Agile Working Policy, introduced at the beginning of 

the pandemic, remains in place. Providing opportunities for 

employees to develop personally and professionally is also 

a contributor to overall wellbeing – read more about this 

on page 24. 

2. Supporting vulnerable communities 

Social value programmes support the development of 

people in our communities, for example through careers and 

employment advice for young people and those out of work. 

Health, wellbeing and community cohesion initiatives in our 

communities were supported with £12,000 worth of charitable 

contributions in the form of donations and volunteering hours. 

The design and location of our developments can also aid 

lifestyles that keep people healthy and well. Throughout 

the year the Keepmoat Design Guide has been refreshed to 

reinforce our sustainable communities focus and is aligned 

to the principles of both the National Design Guide and 

Building for a Healthy Life 1 to enhance the sustainability and 

attractiveness of our developments. 

Of the homes we completed in the period, 58% were on 

developments with waterbodies such as ponds, swales and rain 

gardens – creating green and blue spaces that prevent flooding 

while also benefiting wellbeing and nature – combining 

community, climate and nature benefits these features 

contributed to £1.03m in social value. 2 

HOMES SOLD ON DEVELOPMENTS 

WITH ACCESS TO… 

Quality cycle networks 63% 

Public transport nodes (e.g. bus stop) within 500m 94% 

Public transport nodes (e.g. bus stop) within 1km 98% 

“The design and location of our 

developments can also aid lifestyles 

that keep people healthy and well.” 

1 

Building for a Healthy Life is the new name for the Building for Life 12 development design standard. 

Available at https://www.designforhomes.org/project/building-for-life/ [accessed 26.1.2022] 

2 

Using a natural capital accounting methodology – the B£ST tool, CIRIA.

QUALITY EDUCATION Sustainability Report 23 

Training the 

next generation 

We’re providing education and development opportunities for our people and 

communities to address the construction sector skills shortage. 

6% 

EMPLOYEES ON ‘EARN AND 

LEARN’ SCHEMES 

Our goals 

• To provide youth & community education 

and training initiatives in all Divisions 

• To maintain 5% Club status by increasing 

‘earn and learn’ training opportunities 

• To create a sustainability competency 

programme for employees and 

sub-contractors. 


• We are proud to be a Cornerstone 

Employer in South Yorkshire, 

Humber & East Riding, 

Liverpool and Lancashire 

• 7 case studies published online 

• Joined the Supply Chain Sustainability 

School as a Partner to aid capacity 

building on sustainability in our workforce 

and supply chain 

With an ageing construction workforce in the UK, attracting, 

developing and retaining employees with the right expertise 

is key. While housing is likely to face skills challenges over the 

coming years, for example, to install low carbon technologies 

in both new and old homes, it is an exciting time for a new 

generation to join the housing industry and learn new skills. 

Supporting community education 

Keepmoat is a Cornerstone Employer in South Yorkshire, 

Humber & East Riding, Liverpool and Lancashire, meaning 

we work with the Careers and Enterprise Company to provide 

career guidance and work experience for young people to help 

them in future choices. 

In a normal year, we work closely with local schools and 

colleges around our developments, helping to deliver face to 

face construction skills sessions, work experience and careers 

support. COVID-19 has meant much of this support has moved 

online. Despite the challenges, during FY21 we dedicated over 

240 employee hours to school visits on topics from careers 

information to household budgeting. 

We have provided many opportunities for people, young 

people in particular, to gain qualifications, placing 41 

apprentices directly or through our supply chain and providing 

56 accredited training weeks towards other workplace 

qualifications. 

Supporting our skills development 

During the year we achieved Gold status with The 5% 

Club, for greater than 5% of our employees being 

trainees, graduates or apprentices in ‘earn and learn’ 

positions across all functions within the business or 

through our sub-contractors and partners. In fact, 6% 

of our employees are in such positions. This approach 

supports our skilled teams, addresses skills shortages 

and opens this very important sector as a great career 

opportunity to many. 

Among them are the 10 participants of the first cohort 

of our new Land and Partnerships Graduate Scheme 

programme, which is underway. We have now turned 

our attention to a Commercial Graduate Scheme with its 

first intake during FY22. 

We are also committed to the personal and professional 

development of our existing employees, which you may 

read more about on page 24. 

Chantelle 

6% of employees 

on ‘earn and 

learn’ schemes 

From leaving school Chantelle had a drive and passion 

to work in the construction industry. However, her early 

attempts to gain an apprenticeship with a contractor 

proved elusive until she applied to Keepmoat. Chantelle 

was successful in securing an Assistant Site Manager 

role in 2017 and is now successfully working alongside 

the site manager at a Keepmoat site in Malton North 

Yorkshire where she acts as a role model for other young 

women looking to enter into the industry. 

Chantelle visits local primary and secondary schools 

where she uses her experiences to encourage young 

women to pursue their goals and ambitions regardless 

of the challenges they may face. Chantelle is also one 

of small number of female site managers at Keepmoat 

working to change the views and stereotypes within 

the sector. 

Supporting our supply chain 

During FY21 we made the most of our apprenticeship 

levy, transferring unused funds to our supply chain to 

maximise benefits. 

Phoebe 

One example is where we shared our Levy pot with 

Chandos Civil Engineering to enable them to recruit a 

new apprentice quantity surveyor. Phoebe wished to 

pursue a career in Quantity Surveying, but realised that 

she was better suited to an apprenticeship degree. 

She had already secured a role as a Junior Surveyor at 

Chandos Civil Engineering in 2018. However, in order 

to qualify for a place on an apprenticeship degree, 

she needed sponsorship from a company with a Levy 

Scheme. By sharing our Levy with Chandos, we were 

able to give Phoebe the opportunity to access higher 

education. 

Chandos said: “Phoebe has a promising career 

ahead of her and we are grateful to Keepmoat 

Homes for their investment in her future and also 

their continuous support for the future of the 

construction industry.”

DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Sustainability Report 25 

Delivering safe 

and sustainble growth 

We’re assuring the safety and sustainability of our sites, operations and supply chains, 

and increasing the proportion of people from local communities in our workforce. 

93% 

SUPPLY CHAIN SPEND 

SURVEYED FOR MODERN 

SLAVERY RISK 

Our goals 

• To provide for the safety and wellbeing of 

all workers 

• To focus on a local workforce that reflects 

our communities 

• To manage the integration of minimum 

sustainability criteria into all procurement 

exercises. 


• RIDDOR accident injury incidence rate 

static at 539 accidents per 100,000 

(2020: 528) employed, a nominal increase 

• 77% of colleagues live within a 30 miles 

of their workplace 

• Supplier sustainability maturity matrix and 

risk heatmap developed 

• 93% of supply chain spend assessed for 

modern slavery risk. 

Developing high-performing, 

engaged teams 

In keeping with our people-first approach and 5-Star builder 

status, we have implemented a series of internal training 

programmes, designed to develop High-Performing Teams 

across our business. 

To date our programme has covered three areas: 

• Upskilling our c.400 strong team of customer care, sales 

and construction employees, by focussing on the improved 

delivery of our Hallmark Standard customer service and 

technical skills 

• Having secured CITB grant funding we have delivered 

our new Leading Change - Adding Value development 

programme aimed at improving our people managers’ 

leadership and change management skills. 

This was complemented by our first Future Leaders Programme 

completed in FY21. The year-long programme was aimed 

at our high performers with the potential to reach a senior 

leadership role, focused on leadership style and skills, coaching 

and mentoring. 

To ensure continual improvement, our Professional 

Development Review (PDR) conversations and supporting 

tools help identify performance and development needs of 

colleagues to managers and our Learning and Development 

team, who offer leadership and development programmes 

supported by masterclasses and mentoring. 

Our 2020 biennial Peoples’ 

Voice employee engagement 

survey results showed an 

engagement score of 86% 

(2018: 81%). 

Raising the standard in Health and Safety 

Our integrated management system is triple certified to: 

• ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management) 

• ISO14001:2015 (Environmental Management) 

• ISO 45001:2018 (Safety Management) 

All regional directors undertake monthly inspections to 

check environmental, health and safety (EHS) standards. 

Our Group EHS and Group Production Directors undertake 

inspections in all regions throughout the year with a random 

number of unannounced spot checks on environment, 

health and safety issues. 

Contracts Manager inspections increased from 608 to 

882 and Site Manager inspections from 2634 to 3672, 

demonstrating our commitment to managing risk and 

compliance. 

Construction compliance audits by EHS Business Partners 

doubled from 32 to 66 and high risk audits increased from 

17 to 132. Both yielded high levels of compliance with 

company standards and legal requirements. 

People are at the centre of our health and safety approach, 

and an environment, health and safety training matrix covers 

all employee roles to determine environmental, health 

and safety training requirements corresponding with their 

responsibilities. We have a process in place for surveilling the 

health of our safety-critical roles and all employees receive 

regular advice on how to live healthy lifestyles through 

KeepWell employee support programme. 

All but our smallest Tier 1 sub-contractors must hold the 

CHAS Advanced accreditation ensuring adherence to the 

same exacting safety, environment, diversity and modern 

slavery standards as Keepmoat, with 94% of all sub-contract 

spend being with accredited organisations. 

Unannounced site visits by the HSE in the year generated 

no improvement, prohibition notices, prosecutions, or 

intervention fees. Our systems, controls and performance 

were awarded the 2021 Gold Award by the Royal Society 

for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). 

Modern slavery vigilance 

Carbon intensity 

Our Modern Slavery Statement is published in compliance 

with the Modern Slavery Act. In addition to the CHAS 

2.00 Advanced accreditation for sub-contractors, a survey was 

distributed to our materials supply chain. Overall, 93% of 

1.5 our supply chain has been assessed 

1.61 

for modern slavery risks 

1.52 

and mitigation 

1.36 

processes. 

1.36 

We used 18th October, 

1.00 Anti-Slavery Day as an opportunity to remind 1.19 our 1.12 

employees of the signs to look out for in our Monday 

0.5 Matters employee newsletter. 

0.00 Diversity 

Valuing diversity FY19forms part of FY20 our Values and Behaviour FY21 

framework at Keepmoat, and is also part of our company 

Scope 1,2 (location-based) and scope 3 business travel 

People Strategy. Our Equal Opportunities Policy sets out 

in private vehicles per home completed (tCO 

clear expectations that we will provide and promote 2 

e) 

equal 

opportunities 

Scope 1,2 (market-based) 

in employment. 

and 

We 

scope 

aim to 

3 

attract 

business 

people 

travel 

in private vehicles per home completed (tCO 

through a variety of recruitment methods to provide 2 

e) 

a rich 

and diverse mix of candidates. This is in recognition of the 

benefits that a diverse workforce has in serving the diversity 

of the communities in which we work. Our gender pay gap 

is reported publicly on our website. 

Employee gender split (no.) 

1200 

1000 

800 

600 

400 

200 

0 

33% 

67% 

FY20 

33% 

67% 

FY21 

Female 

Male

INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE Sustainability Report 27 

Designing a new 

blueprint for housing 

Parklands zero carbon homes 

We’re delivering increasingly sustainable homes that are affordable, adaptable, 

energy-efficient and designed for modern life. 

Sustainable homes 

12% 

OF HOMES COMPLETED USING 

MODERN METHODS OF 

CONSTRUCTION 

Our goals 

• To create sustainable homes (affordable, 

efficient, low carbon and adaptable). 


• Commenced trial of battery assisted 

generators 

• Average home kWh/m 2 of 88.6 

• 12% of homes completed using modern 

methods of construction. 

Our approach to the design of homes is to focus on 

affordability, comfort and increasingly lower carbon homes 

located in sustainable communities. We are updating our 

standard designs and trialling technologies to ensure the homes 

we build are increasingly energy efficient, lower carbon and 

affordable – an issue of increasing importance after a 12% rise 

to the energy price cap in October 2021. 3 

We’re outlining a detailed roadmap for the development of 

our new Future Homes designs to deliver flexible living spaces, 

fabric performance and overheating prevention, with the aim 

of reducing energy consumption. Our roadmap will integrate 

renewable energy solutions, smarter energy controls and 

storage solutions. 

FUTURE HOMES STANDARD EXPECTED MILESTONES 

Part 1 

Timescale 

Carbon 

reduction 

Strategy and technology 

2021-2023 31% Space heating reduced 

by increased thermal 

performance, reduced 

air leakage, efficient 

ventilation. Solar PV to 

offset carbon in use. 

Part 2 

Timescale 

Carbon 

reduction 

2025 at least 

75% 

Strategy and technology 

Removal of gas boilers 

in place of all electric 

renewable technologies 

and energy generation. 

3 

Energy prices and their effect on households (ONS, February 2022) 

To address our broader sustainability priorities, we’ve 

focused on increased standardisation and sharing our digital 

designs with our supply chain to enhance the use of offsite 

pre-manufactured value and on-site assembly. This will 

support waste reduction and improve quality in delivery. 

This approach resulted in: 

• Standard house types making up 78% of homes 

constructed in the year 

• Modern methods of construction (timber frame and 

full volumetric solutions) accounted for 12% of homes 

completed in the year 

• The specification of homes for very low water consumption 

of 83.7 litres per person per day (LPPPD) 

• All new developments from FY21 benefit of 1 Gigabit Day 

One connectivity, access to a choice of Wi-Fi providers 

and access to bespoke lower cost options for low-income 

households. 

Low cost energy 

Our partnership with Manchester City Council and Heylo 

Housing in West Gorton has introduced the latest smart 

home technology in five trial homes to evaluate the impact 

of emerging technologies running costs, comfort and energy 

consumption as a result of interaction with the grid. 

The brick homes have an enhanced fabric performance with 

rigid insulation. They also have dual aspect solar PV panels, 

linked to battery storage to generate and store energy. This is 

managed using smart technology from Wondrwall. 

The home is provided with a ‘brain’ which senses movement, 

humidity, temperature, light and sound to optimize energy 

consumption around the home. It also enables the home 

to export surplus energy from the battery back to the grid 

and import energy when tariffs are low, creating both an 

income for the customer and the opportunity to buy and store 

affordable electricity. 

Wondrwall has now completed 12 months of post-occupancy 

monitoring, finding a 1.8 tonnes of CO 2 

reduction annually per 

home, with energy bill savings of up to £559 per year, 74%, in 

its report dated October 2021. Energy demand was reduced in 

all homes to cost and environmental benefit. 

Gedling Access Road (GAR) 

As part of our Chase Farm development on the former 

Gedling Colliery we have contributed £17m (42%) to 

the construction of the Gedling Access Road. While 

new roads are not traditionally considered a sustainable 

feature of a development, the bypass addresses a 

number of long-standing transport issues for the village, 

with the A6211 currently seeing 15,000 vehicles a day 

(one of the busiest stretches of road in the region). 

Following completion in 2022 the existing road will be 

retained, providing a quieter route for local traffic, buses, 

cyclists and pedestrians. 

Overall, the construction provides significant carbon 

reduction from reduced congestion, reduced travel 

time and local disruption from traffic, with improved air 

quality for local residents. 

To compensate for impacts on biodiversity and deliver a 

net gain, there will be a 40% increase in woodland and 

the adjacent country park will increase in size with new 

non-motorised access points from the bypass and the 

Chase Farm development.

RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION Sustainability Report 29 

Working towards 

zero net waste 

We aim to achieve zero net waste construction by minimising waste, embedding the 

circular economy and continually improving our management systems. 

20% 

WASTE INTENSITY REDUCTION 

PER HOME 

Our goals 

• To report annually on sustainability 

performance 

• To achieve zero net waste through waste 

minimisation and buying recycled by 2024 

• To certify all management systems to ISO 

14001, ISO 9001 & ISO 45001. 


• 11% waste reduction per completed 

square meter over the last 2 years 

• Materials Management Plans mandated 

for all new developments 

• Standards and processes in place 

to ensure use and quality of recycled 

aggregates. 

Waste is a major impact of the whole construction sector 

with construction, excavation and demolition waste 

accounting for 62% of all UK waste in 2018. 4 Housebuilding 

is no exception to this and consumes large quantities of 

building materials which in turn require energy, water and 

labour to produce and transport. 

Ultimately, we aim to make Keepmoat a zero-net waste 

business by 2024 (closing the loop), by prioritising 

sustainable materials and products and minimising the waste 

that arises from the construction process. 

Waste 

During the year we diverted 98% of construction waste 

from landfill (2020: 98%) and have started to report our 

waste intensity on a per 100m 2 legally completed area basis 

for improved industry comparability, reducing waste to 

7.33t per 100m 2 . 5 Absolute construction waste rose 30% 

between FY20 and FY21 due to abnormally low activity 

in FY20 caused by COVID-19 restrictions. However, In 

comparison with FY19, a year of more typical production 

output, absolute waste saw a 11% reduction. 

CONSTRUCTION WASTE 

FY19 FY20 FY21 

Construction waste NA NA 7.33 

100m 2 

intensity (tonnes per 

Construction waste 

intensity (per completed 

home) 

Construction waste 

(tonnes) 

Diversion from 

landfill rate (%) 

6.70 7.34 5.99 

27,044 18,064 23,703 

97 98 98 

Continual communication over waste is key to increasing 

levels of segregation and avoiding unnecessary waste. We 

drive this through quarterly benchmarking of development 

waste volumes and costs, supported by bulletins, factsheets 

and toolbox talks to site teams and employees. 

Designing out waste 

Working together with our suppliers and subcontractors, we 

are focused on reducing and preventing avoidable waste by 

implementing digital designs across our supply chain. 

By sharing 3D models, we are able to work with our supply 

chain to maximise efficiency and reduce waste, as part of 

our drive to increase the pre-manufacture value content of 

our homes, as we move towards on-site assembly. 

Our ultimate goal is a ‘no-cuts, no drills’ approach to 

increase productivity while minimising wastage. This requires 

greater focus to accurate detailing in the design process. 

Key areas include: 

• De-cluttering homes to remove difficult details e.g. nibs 

• Calculating all dimensions including window openings to 

brick dimensions 

• Designing storey heights to work to full courses – to 

avoid cuts 

• Pre-cutting bricks to gable cut ups 

• Developing designs which support ‘design for 

manufacture’ principles 

• Incorporating more off-site manufactured / prefinished 

components. 

An example of this is our use of Staircraft’s intermediate 

floors. These come pre-cut; even the notches for the 

straps are pre-cut, together with holes for first fix services, 

resulting in almost no waste. 

Reusing soils 

Materials Management Plans (MMPs) allow us to utilise 

excavated made ground and natural soils without them 

being legally classed as ‘waste’ and requiring off-site 

disposal. MMPs can be quickly and easily amended 

throughout the project to reflect changes. While the use 

of MMPs is not a legal requirement, if one is not used then 

a bespoke environmental permit or appropriate waste 

exemption must be used to legally reuse soils and made 

ground. 

We have committed to the use of MMPs on all new 

developments. This helps us avoid thousands of tonnes of 

waste that would otherwise be generated from site levelling, 

excavation for foundations and roads, and utility service 

trenches. Instead, we sustainably reuse this material in 

construction - helping to avoid the cost and environmental 

impact of off-site waste disposal, and the need to import 

clean virgin soils and stone to site. 

Through the use of an MMP at our Timeless development 

in Leeds, we avoided 125,000 tonnes of soils and made 

ground generated as part of construction from being 

discarded as waste. We have subsequently reused these 

materials as engineered fill within the site construction, 

avoiding over 6,000 lorry movements from the site, 

minimising off-site disposal costs and eliminating the need 

to import replacement fill materials. 

4 

DEFRA (July 2021) UK Statistics on Waste 

5 

Per 100m 2 metric recommended by the NextGeneration 

Sustainability Benchmark 

6 

Floor area intensity ratio only available only from FY21. No data 

available for MCi in FY19 and FY20

CLIMATE ACTION Sustainability Report 31 

Working greener 

and cleaner 

We’re taking action to reduce absolute carbon emissions from our operations, our 

supply chain and the homes we build, and adapt our operations and approach to 

tackle a changing climate. 

20% 

OPERATIONAL CARBON 

REDUCTION PER HOME 

CONSTRUCTED SINCE FY19* 

Our goals 

• To bring climate change resilience 

in development design, throughout 

construction and lifecycle 

• To align our business carbon reduction 

aligned to limiting global warming to well 

below 2 o C. 


• Overheating mitigation techniques 

considered as part of an external report 

and internal analysis of development 

• Committed to set science-based targets 

via the SBTi and joined the Race to Zero 

• 19% absolute reduction in Scope 1 & 2 

market-based emissions between FY19 

and FY21 

Our commitments to net zero and 1.5 O C 

During the year we made a public commitment via the 

Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to set science-based 

carbon emission targets aligned to the need to restrict 

global temperature increases to 1.5 O C. This means we will 

be setting revised carbon emission targets in FY22. We also 

signed up to the Race to Zero committing to be a net zero 

business before 2050. 

Performance 

During the year our scope 1 & 2 carbon intensity (market 

based) was 1.12 tonnes per home completed (1.37 tonnes 

per 100m 2 , an 18% reduction compared to FY19). Absolute 

scope 1 and 2 emissions (market-based) increased 20% 

compared to FY20, reflecting the post-COVID change in 

productivity and abnormally low construction activity in 

FY20 due to lockdowns at the pandemic’s height. You can 

see further figures on our operational carbon emissions in 

the appendix of this report. 

Carbon intensity 

2.00 

1.5 

1.00 

0.5 

0.00 

1.36 1.36 

FY19 

1.61 1.52 

FY20 

1.19 

FY21 

1.12 

Scope 1,2 (location-based) and scope 3 business travel 

in private vehicles per home completed (tCO 2 

e) 

Scope 1,2 (market-based) and scope 3 business travel 

in private vehicles per home completed (tCO 2 

e) 

*Operational carbon includes scope 1, scope 2 (market-based) and scope 

3 business travel in privately owned vehicles 

Our wider carbon footprint 

We have started to analyse our scope 3 footprint, meaning 

those indirect emissions over which we do not have full 

control. The greatest contributions to our total carbon 

footprint are overwhelmingly purchased goods and services, 

and the use of the homes we sell over their lifetimes. 

During the year we worked closely with our largest supplier 

of building materials by spend for greater footprinting 

accuracy based on our buying decisions and the credentials 

of individual products with less reliance on use of industry 

averages for calculations. 

Reducing diesel use, natural gas and 

increasing renewable electricity 

Diesel use in construction equipment is a major contributor 

to our direct carbon footprint, and with the ending of the 

preferential ‘red diesel’ duty rate in FY22 its use will also 

increase costs. We have trialled a battery assisted generator 

on our Doncaster Lakeside development showing significant 

diesel reduction potential of up to 90%, compared to our 

standard generators, when combined with energy efficiency 

improvements to site operations. 

During the year we moved all remaining electricity 

consumption over to renewable tariffs. We are now 

reporting 10.73 tCO 2 

e from non-renewable tariff electricity 

for the early part of the year on a market-based method, 

and anticipate this figure to be zero in our FY22 reporting. 

Sustainable travel 

Our company car scheme was updated for improved access 

to EV and hybrid options, doubling the number of these 

vehicles available to staff, and installing EV charge points at 

offices. We reduced our emission cap for company cars from 

185g/km to 150g/km, with an annual review process for 

progressive reductions. Our Agile Working Policy brought 

UNDERSTANDING CARBON SCOPES 

Scope Description % of total 

carbon footprint 

Scope 1 

Direct emissions including use of gas oil 

diesel and natural gas. 

tCO 2 

e 

1.299% 3,742 

Scope 2 Emissions from purchased electricity (market-based) 0.004% 11 

Scope 3 7 

Indirect emissions mainly (but not only) 

from the materials and services we purchase and 

the use of homes we sell over their lifetimes. 

7 

*NB Scope 3 emissions are still under review with significant uncertainty associated with: 

in at the beginning of the pandemic continues, reducing 

employee commuting by an estimated 8.6 million miles 

and business travel by an additional 950,000 miles with 

wellbeing and productivity benefits. 

“I love that the Agile Working policy allows you to make 

your own choices and do what works best for you (plus 

reducing my monthly emissions is always a good thing).” 

Ramona, Keepmoat Glasgow 

Specifying low embodied carbon products 

Our expectations of a sustainable supply chain are outlined 

in our Sustainable Procurement Policy, and we joined the 

Supply Chain Sustainability School as a partner during the 

year to enhance supply chain engagement. 

During FY21, we ordered 4.3 million low carbon Marshalls 

bricks. These are 50% lower embodied carbon than a 

traditionally fired clay brick and are manufactured with a low 

cement content. 

We also completed a successful trial of warm mix 

temperature asphalt, which has 10% less embodied carbon 

when compared to the traditional hot mix product, with no 

compromise to cost or performance. 

Visit //keepmoat.com/corporate/sustainability 

for more detail on our carbon reduction plans. 

98.697% 284,380 

• the use of spend based methods to calculate emissions from purchased goods and services where specific material and service data is currently 

unavailable 

• changes to the scale and pace of decarbonisation of electricity and gas networks influencing the lifetime emissions of homes constructed

LIFE ON LAND Sustainability Report 33 

Creating a net 

positive future 

We’re following a Net Positive strategy that protects and enhances our environment 

across the lifecycle of our operations, homes and developments. 

Embedding and enhancing nature 

A great example of how we’re embedding features 

that benefit wildlife in our developments, and helping 

to address the ecological emergency, is at Hartcliffe 

Campus, in Bristol. 

20% 

REDUCTION IN OUR 

ENVIRONMENTAL INCIDENT 

RATE 

Our goals 

• To deliver a net gain in biodiversity for all 

Keepmoat Homes developments by 2023 

• To reduce significant environmental 

incidents and increase environmental 

hazards observed 

• To develop green spaces which support 

communities and promote biodiversity. 


• Delivered biodiversity net gain training to 

Land & Partnership, and Technical teams 

• 3 biodiversity case studies produced 

• 20% reduction in our environmental 

incident rate. 

We appreciate that our health, wellbeing and prosperity are 

closely linked to a healthy environment and that the natural 

world provides the resources and eco system services we 

need to survive. 

That’s why we’re already working to understand and 

minimise the impact our activities, enhance the environment 

and benefit local communities. Over half of our homes 

completed in the period were on developments with an 

ecological enhancement plan, and we are drawing upon 

the advice of Local Wildlife Trusts via their Wildscapes 

consultancy to develop our biodiversity strategy. 

During the year we audited our timber materials suppliers to 

assess compliance with our policy to procure only FSC and 

PEFC certified timber. We found 100% of our suppliers had 

FSC or PEFC chain of custody certification with 99.92% of 

timber being FSC or PEFC certified. 

100% 

99.92% 

58% 

52% 

Timber materials suppliers with FSC/ 

FSC Chain of Custody 

Timber supplied with FSC/PEFC 

certification 

Sales completed on developments 

with above-ground landscape-led 

sustainable drainage schemes 

Sales completed on developments 

with ecological enhancement plans 

Protecting the environment during 

construction 

During construction, we work to continually improve our 

protection of the natural environment in two ways: 

• Embedding enhanced environmental standards 

into operational processes and sub contractor trade 

specifications, to ensure we and our contractors 

consistently implement environmental protection. 

Biodiversity net gain 

The future requirement to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain 

(BNG) upon our developments will ensure we approach 

design with a view to leaving the natural environment in 

a measurably better state than beforehand. The guiding 

BNG principles and mitigation hierarchy (Avoid-Minimise- 

Compensate) will help us achieve the best outcomes for 

biodiversity and nature, contributing to local, regional, and 

national priorities. Valuable habitats will be retained and/ 

or enhanced with ‘trading rules’ securing appropriate offsite 

compensation when the minimum 10% gain cannot 

be achieved on-site. The guiding principles will also create 

a long-term legacy through the requirement to manage, 

monitor and maintain habitats for 30 years. 

With the above in mind, we are developing our processes to 

achieve BNG, working with the Wildlife Trusts and ecological 

consultancies. We have found that early consideration of 

ecology and biodiversity in design is essential, ensuring our 

plans retain high value habitats, specify native species and 

prioritise the use of species-rich wildflower grasslands in 

public open spaces. We are fine-tuning our approach to 

include ecological enhancement plans and to target the 

successful long-term management of retained or newly 

created habitats. 

Developed in collaboration with housing provider 

LiveWest, this site forms a key part of the regeneration 

of South Bristol, providing much needed high quality 

affordable homes. 

To benefit nature, the development includes a variety 

of ecological initiatives, including: 

• A series of four sustainable drainage ponds 

creating seasonally wet grassland, including the 

planting of cowslips, yellow flag iris, ragged robin 

and purple loosestrife 

• 1,400 square meters of green roofs covering three 

apartment blocks. The roofs will contain a mosaic 

of habitats including kidney vetch to support the 

resident community of small blue butterflies (our 

smallest UK resident butterfly with a wing span 

that can be a little as 16mm) 

• Creation of a wildlife corridor, including species 

rich wildflower grassland and a central wildflower 

“pollinator park”, helping residents connect with 

nature 

• Planting of new hedgerows and 450 new trees 

across the development, providing habitats for 

wildlife while also providing shade and cooling in 

hot summers 

• Better habitats for bats, birds and reptiles and 

insects. With a minimum of 30 bat boxes, 70 bird 

boxes, 3 reptile hibernacula (hibernation areas) and 

10 solitary bee bricks being constructed on homes 

and wildlife areas. 

• Training operational teams on key environmental risks, 

such as the increased risk of surface water pollution 

associated with our changing climate.

PARTNERS, AWARDS & ACCREDITATIONS Sustainability Report 35 

Partnering with excellence 

To support our sustainability ambitions, we work in partnership with a number 

of organisations, either through membership certification or accreditation. 

SOCIAL VALUE UK 

Our Social Value Management 

Certificate reflects our work 

with Social Value UK to 

manage and maximise the 

level of social value delivered 

through our activities. 

RACE TO ZERO 

Members of this global 

campaign to achieve net zero 

carbon by 2050. 

SUPPLY CHAIN 

SUSTAINABILITY 

SCHOOL 

Partners and Gold level 

members of this industry 

collaboration to enable a 

sustainable built environment. 

FUTURE HOMES HUB 

The Future Homes Hub 

supports the implementation 

of the Future Homes Delivery 

Plan. We sit on the Future 

Homes Oversight Group. 

5% CLUB 

As Gold members of the Club, 

at least 5% of our workforce 

are in earn and learn positions. 

ISO CERTIFICATIONS 

All our operations work in 

compliance with management 

systems that are certified to: 

• ISO 9001 (Quality 

Management) 

• ISO 14001 (Environmental 

Management) 

• ISO 45001 (Health and 

Safety Management). 

INVESTORS IN PEOPLE 

Recognition for our effective 

people centric culture and 

the positive impact that this 

has on our performance as a 

business. 

CORNERSTONE 

EMPLOYER 

We are a Cornerstone 

Employer in South Yorkshire, 

East Yorkshire and the 

Humber, Lancashire and 

Liverpool, providing career 

advice and work experience 

for young people 

RoSPA GOLD AWARD 

RoSPA Gold Award for 

2020/21. It demonstrates 

excellent health and safety 

management systems 

Industry recognition 

and awards achieved 

Keepmoat Homes’ sustainability programmes and achievements have been 

recognised by a number of national and regional awards bodies. 

DONCASTER BUSINESS 

AWARDS 2021 

Winner in the Excellence in 

Corporate Social Responsibility 

category. 

NATIONAL SOCIAL 

VALUE AWARDS 2021 

Winner in the Social Value in 

Development category: Hull 

Citywide Partnership. 

LABC AWARDS 2020 

Our Chase Farm development 

in partnership with Gedling 

Borough Council has been 

awarded the Best High- 

Volume 

Housing Development in the 

LABC East Midlands Building 

Excellence Awards 2020. 

NE BUSINESS AWARDS 

2020 

Our North East region won 

the ‘Heart of the Community’ 

award at the Durham, 

Sunderland and South 

Tyneside 2020 

NE Business Awards. 

INSIDER RESIDENTIAL 

PROPERTY AWARDS 

2021 (MIDLANDS) 

Our East Midlands region won 

‘Housebuilder of the year’ for 

high quality social housing 

delivery. 

ARMED FORCES 

CONVENANT 

BRONZE AWARD 

We support the Armed 

Forces, including existing or 

prospective employees.

PERFORMANCE DATA Sustainability Report 37 

Health & Safety Prohibition notices (no.) 0 0 0 

Our performance 

Business performance 

Indicator FY19 FY20 FY21 

Revenue (£m) £649.8m £406m £701.6m 

Adjusted Earnings Before Interest and Tax (Adjusted EBIT) (£m) £61.1m £11.4m £79.8 

NHBC Reportable items per inspection 0.42 0.23 0.28 

HBF Star rating 4 5 5 

Homes Completed 4,035 2,460 3,915 

Homes Completed (operational control – inc. JVs) 8 3,957 

Completed floor area – 100m 2 (operational control – inc. JVs) 3,232m 2 

Average selling price £161,000 £165,000 £179,000 

Plots secured 25,024 24,000 24,000 

SDG 3 – Good health and wellbeing 


Mental health first aiders in position (no.) 0 33 38 

Investors in People (rating) Developed Developed Developed 

SDG 4 – Quality education 


Trainees, apprentices and graduates (%) 8% 8% 6% 

Employees on trainee, apprenticeship and graduate schemes (no.) 91 87 70 

Graduates recruited in FY (no.) 0 0 10 

Apprentices (direct and sub-contractor) recruited in FY (no.) 45 41 

SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth 


Employees - average during the period (no.) 1,141 1,145 1,070 

Injury Incident Rate (RIDDOR) (AIIR) 9 289 531 539 

Health & Safety prosecutions (no.) 0 0 0 

Health & Safety Improvement notices (no.) 0 0 0 

8 

Homes completed & 100m 2 (operational control ref) – these figures include all joint venture homes completed where Keepmoat has 

operational control. These are used to calculate intensity ratios in alignment with the boundaries of the business carbon footprint 

9 

Injury Incident Rate (RIDDOR) (AIIR) is calculated as follows: (RIDDOR reportable injuries per year / direct and subcontract employment) 

X 100,000 

Work-related fatalities, direct and indirect workforce (no.) 0 0 0 

Safety inspections (Site, Contract, Director) 4,036 4,096 5,239 

Male : Female employees (%) 67:33 67:33 67:33 

Male : Female senior managers (%) 79:21 78:22 79:21 

Male: Female Executive (%) 92:8 86:14 

Inclusion and Diversity (Fairness inclusion, respect) and mental health first 

aider training provided (hours) 

Modern Slavery risk assessments (%) supplier and sub-contractor spend 93% 

SDG 9 – Innovation, industry and infrastructure 


Average EPC Score & SAP rating B (84) B (84) B (84) 

EPC B or above (%) 99% 99% 98% 

Average kWh/m 2 /yr (home regulated energy) 88.6 88.8 88.6 

Average KgCO 2 

e/m 2 /yr 15.6 15.6 15.5 

Average water use of homes (litres per person per day) 113 83.7 83.7 

Homes completed using Modern Method of Construction (MMC) (%) 10 15% 16% 12% 

SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities 


Social value generated (£m) 11 £27.0m £18.5m £200.8m 

Homes on partnership developments (%) 12 90% 

Open Market Sales to first-time buyers (%) 13 70% 70% 79% 

Affordable homes (%) 14 35% 43% 39% 

Homes with good access to cycle networks (%) 63% 

Homes on developments

PERFORMANCE DATA Sustainability Report 39 

Our performance 

SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production 


Tonnes of construction waste per 100m 2 completed build area 7.33 

Tonnes of construction waste per completed home 6.70 7.34 5.99 

Diversion from landfill rate (%) 97% 98% 98% 

Total waste (tonnes) 27,213 18,302 23,803 

Total waste diverted from landfill (tonnes) 26,403 17,998 23,433 

Total waste to landfill (tonnes) 810 304 370 

Construction waste (tonnes) 27,044 18,064 23,703 

Construction waste diverted from landfill (tonnes) 26,235 17,761 23,335 

Construction waste to landfill (tonnes) 809 303 368 

SDG 13 – Climate action 


SECR MWh (S1, S2 – location & S3 - business travel) 22,633 16,388 19,517 

SECR - Scope 1,2 and 3 (business travel) (CO 2 

e tonnes) 5,425 3,922 4,706 

SECR - Scope 1,2 and 3 (business travel) intensity 

(CO 2 

e tonnes per 100 sqm) 

SECR - Scope 1,2 and 3 (business travel) intensity 

(CO 2 

e tonnes per £100,000 TO) 

1.46 

0.83 0.97 0.67 

SECR - Scope 1,2 and 3 (business travel) intensity (CO 2 

e tonnes per home) 1.34 1.59 1.19 

Scope 1 carbon emissions (CO 2 

e tonnes) 4,339 3,052 3,742 

Red Diesel (CO 2 

e tonnes) 3,293 2,431 2,964 

LPG (CO 2 

e tonnes) 213 70 86 

Co. Car (CO 2 

e tonnes) 440 326 331 

Plot Gas (CO 2 

e tonnes) 352 206 284 

Office Gas (CO 2 

e tonnes) 41 19 73 

Fugitive Emissions (AC leaks) (CO 2 

e tonnes) NK NK 4.40 


e tonnes)– Electricity (location-based) 320 285 294 


e tonnes)– Electricity (market-based) 320 73 11 


e tonnes) 306,624 205,189 284,380 

Scope 3 - Purchased Goods & Services (CO 2 

e tonnes) 16 178,503 130,181 179,074 

Scope 3 - Homes lifecycle (CO 2 

e tonnes) 106,763 62,236 87,277 

Scope 3 – Other (CO 2 

e tonnes) 21,358 12,772 18,029 

Full scope 1,2 and 3 intensity (CO 2 

e tonnes per 100m 2 ) 89 


e tonnes per £’000 turnover) 48 51 41 


e tonnes per home) 77 85 73 

SDG 15 – Life on land 


Homes on brownfield land (%) 17 80% 70% 69% 

Environmental Incident Rate – Incidents per 100k headcount 18 217 327 260 

Environmental or other ESG breach cases resulting in prosecutions (no.) 0 0 0 

Timber materials suppliers with FSC or PEFC Chain of Custody certification 

(%) 

Timber purchased from building materials suppliers with FSC or PEFC 

certification (%) 

Homes on developments with ecological assessments conducted to ensure 

the prevention of harm (%) 

Homes on developments with specific ecological enhancement plans 

(Biodiversity Action Plans) (%) 

Homes on developments with nature led Sustainable Drainage features 

(pond, swales etc) (%) 

100% 100% 

99.91% 99.92% 

16 

Scope 3 – Purchased Goods and Services emission data is calculated using a hybrid methodology – using supplier specific carbon data where 

available and spend based industry average analysis where currently unavailable (e.g. with smaller suppliers). It is anticipated this data will 

be refined and re-analysed over the coming year 

17 

Brownfield land % is calculated in accordance with the definition within the NPPF Annex 2 

18 

Environmental Incident Rate is calculated as follows: (Incidents per year / direct and subcontract employment) X 100,000 

We welcome your feedback on this sustainability report. 

Please send your comments by visiting: 

https://www.keepmoat.com/contact-us 

100% 

52% 

58%

Head Office 

The Waterfront 

Lakeside Boulevard 

Doncaster 

South Yorkshire 

DN4 5PL 

01302 896800 

keepmoat.com

Sustainability Report 2021

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