What is ESG
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance, is a global approach used to evaluate how corporations such as Lionweld Kennedy work to achieve their business goals, using these three broad areas to assess their social responsibility.
How are Lionweld Kennedy involved?
Lionweld Kennedy are part of the global PLC, Hill & Smith Holdings. ESG week is an initiative that was announced by Hill & Smith for the first time this year and took place 6-10th June to coincide with World Environment Day on 5th June.
The Hill & Smith ESG strategy is aligned with the group’s purpose of creating sustainable infrastructure and safe transport through innovation and their approach to sustainability is included in detail in their annual company report. The strategy identifies three key areas of focus – Protecting the World, Saving and Enhancing Lives, and Sustainable Governance – with seven sustainable priorities within these areas, including improving energy efficiency, producing sustainable products and managing inclusion and diversity in the workplace.
At Lionweld Kennedy, our actions are aligned with that of Hill & Smith and we continue to work hard to ensure that improving sustainability is woven into our daily working lives.
How we supported ESG Week:
ESG week is an initiative aimed at promoting a better understanding around the expectations of each business unit and how they can become more socially responsible. Each day of the week we focused on a different ESG-themed topic:
Monday – Carbon and Energy
A ‘Carbon & Energy’ focus, we launched a competition for employees to submit their best energy-saving initiative, with the best suggestion being implemented within the business and the winner receiving a sustainable prize. Listening to our employees on how they believe we can best save energy is just one of the ways we can empower our staff to feel involved and encourage engagement.
The winning suggestion was received by Tom Craw, our Project Sales Lead within the GRP department, with the suggestion of installing energy-efficient hand dryers in the bathrooms. Hand dryers emit, on average, 24 grams of CO2 and paper towels cause 56 grams of emissions in production and distribution, as well as contributing towards deforestation.
This suggestion will be implemented within the business in the near future, helping us become more sustainable one step at a time.
Tom Craw receiving his sustainable prize from Karl Wrightson (Group Technical and SHEQ Manager)
Tuesday- Health Safety & Wellbeing
A healthy body and a healthy mind go hand-in-hand, so for ESG Week’s topic of ‘Health, Safety & Wellbeing’ we provided staff with delicious fresh fruit, to keep them replenished throughout the day.
Creating a healthy environment both mentally and physically in the workplace is one of our top priorities and, with this in mind, we offer Lifeworks to all staff members. Giving everyone access to valuable resources to resolve any issues both at home or in the workplace and providing support when they need it.
In addition we also had representatives from, Everyone Active – SLM, The Neptune Centre and Rainbow Centres, attend our Middlesbrough site during this week, arranged by Philip Rees, our Health and Safety Manager.
Everyone Active, The Neptune Centre and Rainbow Centres spoke to staff about the benefits of exercise on both physical and mental wellbeing, as well as discussing options for gym membership.
All our employees who attended received a free day pass and the opportunity to win a free 1-month membership to a local gym.
Wednesday- Volunteering and fundraising
Our focus on this day was to promote the work we do with local charities.
A part of our rebrand, 2022 saw us commit to increasing support for our local area where we can. The Charity Committee was formed and within this, we partnered with Middlesbrough Food Bank, part of the Trussell Trust’s network of food banks across the UK (find out more about their amazing work here).Through this partnership, we encourage staff to donate non-perishable food items which are then donated regularly to Middlesbrough Food Bank to provide emergency food for people in crisis.
We continue to encourage staff to donate to this worthwhile cause, we are all making a difference together.
Thursday- Talent, Diversity & Inclusion
On this day, we welcomed local school students Jack and Esme into Lionweld Kennedy as part of their work experience programme. Demonstrating how an established manufacturing company operates and providing an insight into working life, our students were able to spend time in many of our different departments – in both the office and the factory – talking with staff about their roles and helping where possible.
On the opportunity Esme had been given to experience what it’s like to work in manufacturing, she said, ‘I like being outside or in the factory, it was pretty cool, I can see the difference between working and school’.
Friday- Environment
The last day of ESG Week looked at the topic of ‘environment’.
This is a vast topic and there are many initiatives that Lionweld Kennedy is undertaking to protect the environment. One of the simplest things we can do is to reduce our waste and recycle where possible, including any equipment no longer required.
Using ESG Week as our focus, we donated a selection of 3M welding helmets to Darlington College. We have recently upgraded our welding helmets and wanted to donate our existing ones to a good cause so our Engineering Manager Richard Hookway and our Fabrication Lead Operator Jamie Miller visited the students at Darlington College and presented them with the new helmets. Plans are also in place to see how we can continue to support each other in the future – watch this space!
Do you follow us on LinkedIn? Follow us here to find out more about ESG Week and how we are working towards minimising our environmental impact and achieving a more sustainable working environment for today and for the next generation.