Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR)

Health and Safety issues are an integral part of our business and we are committed to ensuring the Health and Safety of all persons likely to be affected by our activities. All of our technical staff have proven competency and awareness of health and safety in the construction environment by passing the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS). We provide effective training and adequate control measures for all our employees to ensure compliance with all relevant Health and Safety Legislation.

On construction projects we seek to identify, assess and eliminate significant risks. We maintain a Management System for Health and Safety, and we audit and review frequently.

We understand our role as engineers in providing sustainable solutions and to minimise the impact our business has on the environment.

Our environmental systems comply with ISO 14001.
The success of our business stems from a philosophy that combines creativity with practical solutions, commitment with an ambition to be the best.

We aim to reduce our power consumption this year by 10%. Our staff are reminded of the need to turn off lights, photocopiers, printers and computers when not in use. We are continually striving to become more energy efficient, with all our PC's using LCD monitors and energy efficient lighting.

Green travel plans for our offices are being prepared to and monitor how our staff travel to work. Walking, cycling and use of public transport is encouraged. Our replacement company vehicles have reduced CO2, emissions. We endeavour to make business journeys by train were feasible.

We manage our office waste by recycling as much paper, cardboard, bottles etc. We are reducing our usage of paper by use of email and digital means to transfer information between our offices, clients and business colleagues. We use recycled envelopes and letterheads, and scrap paper as notepads and as a result of these initiatives we now purchase less paper.

We have engineered many solutions such as green roofs to reduce roof rain water run off, grey water systems to collect rainwater run off for re-use to reduce mains water usage and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) to replicate natural surface water drainage. Where possible we specify recycled construction materials, and low environmental impact materials by using local sources and sustainable managed sources, as well as site topography to engineer new levels to minimise excavation and offsite disposal.

Developers and designers are encouraged to benchmark the environmental efficiency of a project. We believe that BREEAM assessments will become the standard tool for these. SWH Health & Safety Limited are pleased to be able to offer you this service.

Buildings are major consumers of energy and European Commission research has indicated that by improving energy efficiency carbon emissions from buildings could be reduced by 22%. As a result, major revisions to the building regulations have occurred, and SWH Approved Inspectors can provide advice on these issues.

We undertake traffic studies, assessment existing public transport, pedestrian and cycle routes and compare this with current and proposed site usage for both new and existing sites. We develop green travel plans to promote flexible working and to demonstrate acceptable levels of traffic.

Increased risk of flooding is a concern for planning authorities and the community. We prepare flood risk assessments as part of planning applications for clients, which accord with Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25).

To re-engineer brown field sites; we analyse the potential for existing contamination, managing soil investigation, contamination testing and clear up procedures, liaising with the Environment Agency and Environmental Health.