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Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Overview

The Berkeley Group takes a proactive approach to Environmental, Social and Governance issues.

A Purposeful and Responsible Business

We have always been driven by a clear purpose - to build quality homes, strengthen communities and improve people's lives.

Building on these foundations, in 2010 we created a long-term strategy to guide our business and we called it Our Vision. Our vision is to be a world-class business, trusted to transform the most challenging sites into exceptional places and to maximise our positive impact on society, the economy and the natural world. In 2021 we launched Our Vision 2030; the Berkeley Group's ambitious strategy for the future which sets out our roadmap to 2030 across 10 strategic priorities. Read more about Our Vision 2030 here.

The Berkeley Group has a number of policies that cover key ESG-related issues and our business operations. Our policies can be found here.

We are pleased that our approach to ESG through the delivery of Our Vision has been recognised externally, including the Transformation Award from the 2022 Better Society Awards and the Long Term Business Success award at the Management Today Business Leadership Awards 2023.

A Sustainable Business

Our Vision 2030 includes three key sustainability topics as strategic priorities for the business; Communities, Climate Action and Nature. This is supported by a dedicated sustainability strategy, standards for our project teams and detailed management system to maintain high standards. Read more about our approach to sustainability here.

We are proud to have been one of the first 350 companies worldwide to set science-based targets (SBTs) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction which align to a 1.5°C pathway and have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Read more here.

Read our latest Sustainability Report to find out more about our approach, progress, and achievements from 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022. Note that our report covering 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2023 is due to be published in autumn 2023.

Berkeley Group Sustainability Report Thumbnail 2021-2022

Sustainability Report 2021-2022

Sustainable Development Goals

Berkeley Group is committed to helping to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We have identified six of the goals as being most relevant to us, based on a review of our business activities and value chain against the goals and their underlying targets. We consider that we have the greatest opportunity to contribute to the achievement of these six goals, particularly through the implementation of the Our Vision 2030 business strategy.

SDG Report

Our Performance and Disclosure

Our latest performance on ESG topics is detailed within our Annual Report which can be found here. This includes disclosure against the Financial Stability Board's (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). A summary of performance against our ESG indicators is also provided with more detail available below.

Additional climate-related disclosures, such as our GHG emissions and energy consumption reporting methodology, our approach to being carbon neutral and our disclosure to the CDP Climate Change questionnaire can be found here.

ESG Performance Summary 2023

Benchmarks and Indices

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
CDP Climate Change questionnaire rating	Rating	A-	A-	A	A-	A-	An ‘A-’ leadership score was obtained in 2022/23.
FTSE4Good Index Series listed company	Y/N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Berkeley has been featured on the Index since 2003.
ISS ESG Corporate Rating	Rating	B-	C+	C+	C+	C+	Awarded ‘Prime’ status for fulfilling sector requirements regarding sustainability performance. The ‘B-‘ score achieved in 2023 is the highest in our industry.
MSCI ESG rating	Rating	AAA	AAA	AAA	AAA	AAA	We have achieved an AAA rating for the past seven years.

New Homes

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Completed homes	#	4,637	4,632	3,254	3,158	3,959	Number of homes delivered in the year, including our joint ventures.

Environmental

Environmentally Responsible Operations

The disclosures below are reported in line with our operational reporting boundary, including our joint venture activities. Data for all offices, sites and sales suites (including show homes), along with our modular factory is provided.

Environmental Prosecutions	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Environmental prosecutions	#	0	0	0	0	0	Number of environmental prosecutions in the year.
Environmental fines and penalties	£	0	0	0	0	0	Monetary cost of environmental fines and penalties in the year.

Scopes 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Scope 1 emissions	tCO2e	713	1,974	2,353	3,215	3,808	Direct emissions from natural gas, directly purchased fuels and business travel in company owned and company leased vehicles (utilising conventional fuels as an energy source). Fugitive emissions from refrigerant gas losses are newly included from 2022/23, whilst gas oil emissions are no longer relevant from April 2022.
Scope 2 (location-based) emissions	tCO2e	4,510	5,858	6,385	5,967	6,246	Indirect emissions from electricity, heat and business travel in company owned and company leased vehicles (utilising electricity as an energy source).
Scope 2 (market-based) emissions	tCO2e	250	237	196	160	172	Indirect emissions from electricity, heat and business travel in company owned and company leased vehicles (utilising electricity as an energy source). Market-based emissions take into account Berkeley’s purchase of Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) to certify that 100% of UK electricity is backed by a renewable source (i.e. solar, wind or hydro power).
Scopes 1 and 2 (location-based) emissions	tCO2e	5,223	7,832	8,738	9,182	10,054	Location-based emissions resulting from our office, sales, modular factory, site and business travel activities.
Scopes 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions	tCO2e	963	2,211	2,549	3,375	3,980	Market-based emissions, resulting from our office, sales, modular factory, site and business travel activities, taking into account our procurement of renewable electricity in the UK
Change in scopes 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions	%	-56	-44	-36	-15	-	Our validated science-based target (SBT) is to reduce absolute scopes 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions 50% by FY2030 from a FY2019 base year. We have achieved this target seven years early.
Verified carbon credits procured for voluntary offsetting	#	1,011	2,322	2,675	3,543	4,179	We voluntarily offset more than our scopes 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions on an annual basis using verified carbon credits to maintain carbon neutral operations.

Scopes 1 and 2 Energy Consumption	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Total energy consumption (including non-renewable and renewable)	MWh	30,420	36,335	36,833	35,986	35,681	Energy consumption associated with scopes 1 and 2 emissions has been calculated and reported on a net calorific value (CV) basis. This total figure includes energy from non-renewable and renewable sources.
Non-Renewable energy consumption	MWh	3,371	8,679	10,027	12,998	14,198	Energy consumption from non-renewable sources, including diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas and petrol. Prior to April 2022, this figure also included gas oil.
Renewable energy consumption	MWh	27,048	27,656	26,806	22,988	21,483	The energy consumption from renewable sources, including biodiesel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil), on-site generated renewable energy and purchased electricity in the UK which is backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs).
Biodiesel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil)	MWh	5,020	1,185	251	247	0	Energy from biodiesel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) used across our sites. The Berkeley Group requires all HVO purchased to be produced from waste or by-products (e.g. used cooking oil, animal fat residue or ‘tall oil’ from wood pulp manufacture) and certified via a recognised sustainability scheme.
Renewable electricity	MWh	22,028	26,471	26,555	22,741	21,483	Energy from renewable electricity used across our sites, offices, sales suites and modular factory, including on-site generated renewable electricity (1 MWh in 2023) and UK purchased electricity backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs).
Renewable energy consumption	%	89	76	73	64	60	Percentage of total energy consumption from renewable energy sources.
Purchased electricity backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs)	%	98.7	99.0	99.2	99.1	99.1	Percentage of total global purchased electricity consumption backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs).
Purchased electricity in the UK backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs)	%	100	100	100	100	100	Percentage of total UK purchased electricity consumption backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs).

Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Scope 3 (categories 1 and 11) emissions	tCO2e	574,709	638,017	548,962	519,289	585,690	Indirect emissions that occur in our value chain for material scope 3 categories, which are category 1: Purchased goods and services (56% of 2019 baseline year scope 3 emissions) and category 11: Use of sold products (37% of 2019 baseline year scope 3 emissions).
Scope 3 (category 1: Purchased goods and services) emissions	tCO2e	321,314	369,515	358,344	323,947	352,087	Estimated emissions arising as a result of purchased goods and services calculated using two raw data sources for the reporting year; spend data and contractor fuel purchase data.
Scope 3 (category 11: Use of sold products) emissions	tCO2	253,395	268,502	190,618	195,342	233,603	We use the Dwelling Emission Rate (DER) of legally completed homes in the reporting year to estimate their carbon impact over a lifetime period of 60 years.
Scope 3 (categories 1 and 11) emissions intensity	tCO2e/100 sq m	161	177	206	191	171	Scope 3 (categories 1 and 11) emissions per 100 square metre of legally completed floor area.
Percentage change in scope 3 (categories 1 and 11) emissions intensity	%	-6	4	20	12	-	Our validated science-based target (SBT) is to reduce scope 3 purchased goods and services and use of sold products GHG emissions 40% per square metre of legally completed floor area by FY2030 from a FY2019 base year.

Water Consumption	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Water consumption	m3	201,979	236,234	240,232	214,517	224,443	The volume of water consumed across our offices, sites, sales suites and modular factory.

Waste Generation	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Total waste generated (including construction, demolition and excavation wastes)	tonnes	596,921	734,320	382,824	637,509	709,311	Total non-hazardous and hazardous waste produced by our sites and modular factory. This includes Berkeley Group and contractor wastes from demolition, excavation and construction works.
Total waste classified as hazardous	tonnes	4,799	5,669	2,602	13,689	84,927	Hazardous waste generation is dependent on project activities during the year, including materials contained within any buildings demolished and any contaminated land encountered during groundworks.
Total waste reused or recycled	tonnes	578,501	659,658	362,227	573,724	644,608	Total waste generated that has been reused or recycled.
Total waste reused or recycled	%	97	90	95	90	91	Proportion of total waste generated that has been reused or recycled.
Total waste disposed	tonnes	18,420	74,662	20,597	63,785	64,703	Total waste generated that has been disposed, rather than reused or recycled.
Direct to landfill	tonnes	2,921	56,469	9,666	46,882	53,055	Waste sent directly to landfill for disposal typically relates to waste arising from demolition and excavation activities that cannot be treated for reuse or recycling.
Incineration with energy recovery	tonnes	131	0	111	82	0	Waste sent directly to an incineration plant for combustion with resulting heat energy recovered.
Other	tonnes	15,368	18,193	10,820	16,821	11,648	Waste sent directly to sewage treatment works and hazardous waste treatment facilities, in addition to residual wastes from material recovery facilities (MRFs).
Construction waste generated	tonnes	106,466	126,765	154,409	177,572	142,648	Non-hazardous and hazardous-construction waste produced by our development sites and modular factory. This excludes any demolition and excavation waste, but generally includes soil wastes resulting from piling and landscaping works.
Construction waste classified as hazardous	tonnes	225	606	397	1,210	722	Hazardous waste generated as part of construction works. This normally consists of used spill kit materials and containers for COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) items.
Construction waste reused or recycled	%	95	95	96	95	94	Proportion of construction waste that has been reused or recycled.
Demolition waste generated	tonnes	12,152	23,540	21,347	27,063	75,799	Waste produced by our development sites during the demolition of existing buildings and other infrastructure.
Demolition waste classified as hazardous	tonnes	600	1,102	587	1,722	1,954	Hazardous waste generated as part of demolition works. This normally consists of materials containing asbestos being removed from buildings prior to their demolition.
Demolition waste reused or recycled	%	92	91	94	91	97	Proportion of demolition waste that has been reused or recycled.
Excavation waste generated	tonnes	478,303	584,015	207,068	432,874	490,864	Non-hazardous and hazardous waste produced by our development sites during excavation works such as basement digs.
Excavation waste classified as hazardous	tonnes	3,974	3,961	1,618	10,757	82,252	Hazardous waste generated as part of excavation works. This normally consists of contaminated soils, with amounts varying significantly year-on-year depending on the prior use of brownfield sites being regenerated.
Excavation waste reused or recycled	%	97	89	94	88	89	Proportion of excavation waste that has been reused or recycled, including soils beneficially used at landfill sites.

Sustainable Homes

The disclosures below include all legally completed homes in the year, including joint venture homes.

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Homes constructed on brownfield land	%	86	86	87	89	91	The proportion of homes delivered in the year built on previously developed land.
Homes with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) energy efficiency rating of at least a ‘B’	%	93	89	96	95	93	Each legally completed home has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) energy efficiency rating ranked on a scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). This figure outlines the percentage of our homes achieving at least a ‘B’ rating.
Average Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) energy efficiency score of homes	#	84	83	84	84	85	Each legally completed home has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) energy efficiency score out of 100, based on Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) calculations.
Homes with an Environmental Impact Rating (EIR) of at least a ‘B’	%	98	-	-	-	-	Each legally completed home has an Environmental Impact Rating (EIR) ranked on a scale ‘A’ (low CO2 emissions) to ‘G’ (high CO2 emissions). This figure outlines the percentage of our homes achieving at least a ‘B’ rating.
Average Dwelling Emission Rate (DER) of homes	kgCO2/m2/yr	12.13	12.85	12.00	12.44	11.72	The average Dwelling Emission Rate (DER) of homes legally completed in the year, based on Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) calculations.
Average improvement in Dwelling Emission Rate (DER) over Target Emission Rate (TER) for homes	%	31	31	33	30	34	Comparison of the average Dwelling Emission Rate (DER) of homes legally completed in the year, to the Target Emission Rate (TER) which is the minimum allowable standard for the energy performance of a building.
Average internal water efficiency of homes	Ippd	102.6	104.2	104.5	102.7	102.6	The average internal water efficiency of legally completed homes in litres per person per day.
Homes with internal recycling facilities	%	100	100	96	100	94	The proportion of legally completed homes provided with internal recycling facilities.

Sustainable Places

Where reference is made to live development sites in the disclosures below, this covers all developments that have an implementable planning consent and that are in production, including joint venture sites.

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Developments newly committed to deliver biodiversity net gain	#	8	6	7	9	9	Each site is a new site submitted for planning permission in the year which has committed to delivering a biodiversity net gain.
Developments newly committed to deliver biodiversity net gain on site	%	100	100	100	100	100	We aim to deliver the biodiversity increase within the site boundary, so that the local community experiences the full long-term benefit of an enriched natural environment.
Developments newly committed to deliver biodiversity net gain greater than 10%	%	100	100	100	89	100	In 2021, the Berkeley Group made the commitment to deliver a minimum 10% net gain in biodiversity on every new project.
Developments newly committed to deliver biodiversity net gain greater than 20%	%	38	100	71	78	89	The majority of our sites far exceed our 10% minimum threshold for net gain, set as a commitment under Our Vision 2030 in 2021.
Live development sites regenerating brownfield land	%	76	80	77	67	74	Proportion of live development sites that are on previously developed land.
Live development sites with sustainable drainage systems (SuDS)	%	100	92	91	94	98	Proportion of live developments sites with water management measures such as swales and permeable paving.
Live development sites with cycle storage being provided	%	100	100	100	100	100	77,708 cycle spaces are being provided on sites under development in 2022/23.
Live development sites with electric car charging infrastructure being provided	%	98	93	84	76	74	6,278 active charging points and 6,710 passive charging points are being provided on sites under development in 2022/23.

Social

Charitable Giving and the Berkeley Foundation

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Employees involved with Give As You Earn (GAYE)	%	30	29	32	33	32	Berkeley Group staff can voluntarily sign up to our Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme.
Employees involved with the Berkeley Foundation	%	59	55	53	63	65	In 2022/23, 59% of employees chose to actively contribute to the charity, through time, fundraising or donations.

Considerate Construction

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Average Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) score	#/50	44.14	43.4	43.37	43.16	42.98	Based on independent audits by the CCS. In 2022/23 our average score was 44.14, comparing favourably to an industry average of 40.02.
Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) audits scoring 40/50 or greater	%	99	96	97	95	94	Our target is to achieve a score of 40/50 or greater for each CCS audit.
Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) audits scoring full points across the three core categories; Community, Environment and Workforce	%	58	-	-	-	-	Each of the three core categories of the CCS (Community, Environment and Workforce) have a maximum score out of 15, In 2022/23, 58% audited sites achieved a score of 45/45 across these categories.

Customer Experience

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Six-month rolling average Net Promoter Score (NPS)	#	79.2	77.2	77.9	78.8	73.5	Our six-month rolling average NPS to March 2023 was 79.2, compared to a sector average of 42 (HBF, March 2023).
Customers who would recommend us to a friend	%	97.5	98.0	98.3	98.5	97.1	For the 2022/23 reporting year to March 2023, 97.5% customers would recommend us to a friend compared to an industry average of 90% (HBF, March 2023).

Health and Safety

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Annual Injury Incidence Rate (AIIR) per 100,000 people – direct employees and on-site contractors	#	79	72	124	117	114	The AIIR per 100,000 people shows the number of reportable injuries during the year in relation to Berkeley Group employees and on-site contractors. It significantly outperforms the construction industry average of 326 (HSE, October 2022).
Annual Injury Incidence Rate (AIIR) per 100,000 people – direct employees only	#	0	33	70	35	-	This AIIR per 100,000 people relates to Berkeley Group employees only.
Annual Injury Incidence Rate (AIIR) per 100,000 people – on-site contractors only	#	106	85	1.40	1.46	-	This AIIR per 100,000 people relates to on-site contractors only.
Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) per 100,000 hours – direct employees and on-site contractors	#	0.04	0.03	0.06	0.05	0.05	The AFR measures the total number of reportable injuries sustained for every 100,000 hours worked.
Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) per 100,000 hours - direct employees only	#	0	0.01	0.03	-	-	This AFR per 100,000 hours worked relates to Berkeley Group employees only.
Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) per 100,000 hours - on-site contractors only	#	0.05	0.04	0.06	-	-	This AFR per 100,000 hours worked relates to on-site contractors only.
Lost-Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) per 1,000,000 hours – direct employees and on-site contractors	#	3.21	2.90	3.82	3.97	3.86	The LTIFR measures the number of work-related injuries that result in the direct employee or on-site contractor not being able to return to work the next day for every 1,000,000 hours worked.
Work-related fatalities – direct employees and on-site contractors	#	0	0	0	0	0	There were no direct employee or on-site contractor fatalities during the year.
Hours of training delivered on health and safety matters	#	24,326	24,165	24,843	34,126	30,792	This includes in-person training at our Berkeley Academy facility and online sessions.

Skills and Training

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Direct workforce in 'earn and learn' roles	%	10.0	8.9	7.2	9.3	10.3	Calculated as the average monthly percentage of our direct workforce who are apprentices, graduates or sponsored students.
Graduates joining the business via Berkeley’s Graduate Scheme Programme	#	42	38	26	31	17	Number of new graduates joining the business via Berkeley’s Graduate Scheme Programme throughout the year. This programme covers a number of departments such as Construction, Commercial, Technical and Land and Planning
Average monthly number of directly employed apprentices	#	162	121	89	107	104	Average monthly number of employees on an apprenticeship throughout the year. Apprentices work across many disciplines in our business.

Society and Community Contributions

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Contribution to UK GDP	£bn	2.6	3.2	2.5	2.4	3.0	The Berkeley Group’s calculated overall contribution to GDP, including through direct activities, indirectly through supply chain spend and the induced effect of household spend.
Contribution to UK tax	£m	837	774	595	625	834	The Berkeley Group’s calculated overall contribution to UK tax, including taxes paid directly and the taxes paid by customers and suppliers as a result of our activities.
Contribution to facilities and services for local communities	£m	560	556	204	270	525	The contribution the Berkeley Group make in affordable housing subsidies and wider community infrastructure benefits delivered or committed to during the year.
UK jobs supported directly and indirectly through the supply chain	#,000	29	29	25	23	30	The total number of jobs supported by the Berkeley Group directly and through the supply chain throughout the year.

Supply Chain

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Average number of days taken to pay suppliers	#	30	30	29	28	30	Our average payment time for contractors is in line with the Prompt Payment Code.
Average monthly number of on-site contractors	#	9,473	9,415	8,859	8,307	-	This is the average monthly number of on-site contractors working across the Berkeley Group’s development sites.

Quality

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Homes with fewer than five defects	%	91	94	95	-	-	This year 91% of our homes had fewer than five defects reported by customers on completion, compared with 27% across industry (HBF, March 2023).
Homes with zero defects	%	63	66	68	-	-	This year 63% of our homes had zero defects reported by customers on completion, compared with 5% of homes on average across the industry (HBF, March 2023)

Governance

Board of Directors

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Executive Directors	#	5	5	6	7	7	Board composition figures are as at Annual Report sign-off, with 2022/23 figures as of 21 June 2023.
Independent Non-Executive Directors	#	10	11	11	9	9
Board of Directors – Male	%	67	69	71	75	75
Board of Directors – Female	%	33	31	29	25	25
Average tenure of Board of Directors	#	7	6	7	8	-

Employees

	Unit	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	Notes
Total Employees	#	2,802	3,030	2,705	2,844	2,664	Employee composition figures as at 30 April each year. This includes employees working in our overseas sales suites. Figures for 2022/23 are 18 in China, 11 in Singapore, 9 in the United Arab Emirates, 7 in Hong Kong SAR and 3 in Thailand.
Total employees – Male	%	63	63	64	63	62
Total employees – Female	%	37	37	36	37	38
Non-Board senior management - Male	%	29	40	40	43	50
Non-Board senior management - Female	%	71	60	60	57	50
Reporting to Board or senior management – Male	%	69	71	68	79	80
Reporting to Board or senior management – Female	%	31	29	32	21	20

Sustainability Reports and Disclosures

Key sustainability documents published by the Berkeley Group, including carbon and climate change disclosures.

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Policies

Our policies cover key issues on sustainability and our business operations.

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