In over160 years, since the business was established,we havealways recognised our responsibility to communities, staff and the environment. In the modern world - with the realisation of environmental change, the stresses of managing a work/life balance and overcoming social divides - that responsibility is greater than ever.

John Laing sees sustainability in its widest sense. Obviously it includes a responsibility to the natural environment, through reducing its carbon footprint, looking after wildlife habitats, and ensuring our environmental impact is as positive as possible, but it also includes community issues, health, safety and well-being as well as incorporating a social responsibility to those its business impacts upon.

In each project we bid, the environmental outputs not only comply with the client's requirements, but we also seek to add value. For example, at a housing regeneration project, buildings may be designed with sustainable features, such as green roofs, or systems may be introduced to encourage residents to reduce their carbon footprint. A renewable energy options model is used in the bidding process. This is commissioned from an independent consultant and predicts relative net present value performance of a variety of renewable or low carbon technologies compared to traditional ones.