5 minute read
John Sisk & Son
SISK
Building Today, Caring for Tomorrow
Leading construction company John Sisk & Son is committed to being carbon neutral by 2030, and is partnering with Green Restoration Ireland on the rewetting of 50 acres of bogland in Co Mayo
Sisk is an innovative, international construction and engineering company, experienced in delivering high-quality projects across Ireland, the UK and Europe. With a group turnover of approx. €1.5bn and an industry leading balance sheet, Sisk has the strong financial platform, track record and capacity to be a total solutions provider. In the delivery of complex projects, Sisk works collaboratively with clients and stakeholders to understand key project drivers, enabling the development of solutions that fulfil these needs and provide best value.
“Sustainability at Sisk has evolved over the years to what is now a holistic approach where we implement sustainable business practices in everything we do, underpinned by our values,” says Alan Cawley, Senior Sustainability Manager, John Sisk & Son. “Sustainability means managing our company to deliver long-term positive impacts for all our stakeholders effectively serving future generations We want to ensure that Sisk is tackling the challenges that lie ahead for our industry and wider society and we are at the heart of change.”
Since its beginning, in 1859, the family business has stayed true to founder John Sisk’s guiding principles of providing exceptionally high levels of construction expertise and customer service through investing in its people by employing, training, and inspiring staff to meet their full potential, while always innovating and looking to the future.
Employing over 1,800 people, Sisk continues to grow and expand the business, and has become the employer of choice for many in the construction industry. Through embracing an exciting and innovative culture, Sisk continues to futureproof its strategy, looking beyond its core business to develop new opportunities alongside trusted clients. At the same time, it has made targeted investments in businesses that deliver natural synergies to its own, such as in the facilities management market through Sensori FM, and the off-site modular construction market with Vision Built.
CARBON GOALS Sisk is committed to being carbon neutral by 2030. “It is at the heart of our business strategy,” says Cawley. “It will inform everything we do as a business as we grow and expand the services we offer. Sustainability was front and centre on the agenda in 2021 as we started to operationalise our 2030 Roadmap and ramped up our engagement with key stakeholders.
“As Ireland’s largest construction company, we take our responsibilities very seriously and construction is a sector that needs to play its part in reversing the climate crisis by fundamentally changing how we go about our business.”
In 2020 Sisk launched its 2030 Sustainability Roadmap, ‘Building Today, Caring for Tomorrow’, in which Sisk committed to being a Net Zero business by 2030.
“Sustainability at Sisk brings together Society (our people), Environment (our planet) and Economy (our performance),” Cawley explains. “Our ambition is to lead the industry with the sustainable management of our operations throughout their entire life cycle, whilst upholding our core values of Care, Integrity and Excellence that deliver for our people and our planet.”
In the Roadmap Sisk committed to 21 stretch targets that are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and is working collaboratively with supply chain partners, clients and a range of stakeholders to help deliver on those targets and play its part in reducing carbon emissions.
SISK
BOG RESTORATION Bog restoration is one of the innovative ways Sisk is bringing the strategy to life. In partnership with Green Restoration Ireland (GRI) and a local farmer Sisk has begun the rewetting of 50 acres of bog at Lackaduff, Doocastle, Co Mayo.
Ireland is home to 50 per cent of the last remaining raised bogs in Western Europe. As a direct consequence of this bog rewetting project, 36,000 tonnes of carbon will be permanently locked into the Lackaduff bog and 20-30 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will be avoided annually. A team of Sisk volunteers have been donning their wellies to start the process of re-blocking the drains and bring life back to the bog.
These local bogs feed into a tributary of the Owengarve, part of the Moy River. Emissions of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) in Lackaduff currently range from 1.4 to 2.14 tonnes per year. This will be reduced by 90 per cent as a result of the work carried out by Sisk and its partners.
Of the 20 hectares of raised bog at Lackaduff approximately 8.24 hectares are impacted by the drainage ditches and an estimated 11 kilometres of drains need to be blocked for the full restoration works to be completed. Ongoing monitoring by GRI will confirm the long-term ecological success of this work.
GRI is helping landowners to set a positive precedent and take action to restore their bogs while generating new income streams including through the creation of carbon credits in the long run. GRI’s goal is to achieve equitable, innovative and sciencebased solutions to the restoration of peatlands for farmers and landowners.
“We believe that all our stakeholders have a part to play in ensuring its delivery, supported by our policies and procedures in our management system. This journey involves measuring, monitoring and assessing our operations to achieve continual improvement and to enhance performance in line with our objectives and targets, whilst meeting our compliance obligations,” states Cawley.
“Our objectives and targets are regularly reviewed with the necessary information and resources available to drive sustainable improvement and successful delivery of social value outcomes.”
In line with Sisk’s Zero Philosophy, the aim is to achieve Zero Waste and Zero Carbon.
