Mercury is the European leader in construction solutions. The company proudly builds and manages complex engineering and construction projects for the world’s leading corporations, while also maintaining a dedication to its sustainability responsibilities. Mercury’s QEHSS Director Michael O’Connor explains more to Inside Sustainability in the interview below.
Michael O’Connor, QEHSS Director of Mercury said: “We’re committed to our industry-leading Work Safe, Home Safe culture which encompasses the entirety of our QEHSS processes. A key element of this is working towards a greener future through our training, processes, and delivery throughout our operations.
“As a business we are dedicated to driving a positive impact across Environmental, Social and Governance.”
Mercury’s sustainability approach has been defined under the “Our Planet, Our
Duty” strategy, to reflect the needs of clients, employees and supply chain partners and bring a positive impact to local communities while driving for sustainable construction practices.
Mercury’s most recent materiality survey led to the creation of its current KPI framework, which is divided into four key areas and focus points: employees, value chain, environment and local communities. The framework highlights the company’s dedication to being an
employer of choice, whilst it creates and maintains responsible partnerships, minimising its environmental footprint and supporting local community wellbeing.
The environmental approach
Mr O’Connor is proud to note that in 2023 Mercury was recognised by EcoVadis, the world’s largest and most trusted corporate sustainability ratings provider, obtaining a silver badge for a commitment to responsible business practices and ranking in the Top 25% of companies rated.
“Our efforts in the environment category were noted as a particular standout,” said Mr O’Connor. “It’s great to be recognised but it’s also crucial that we continue driving ahead and embrace sustainable approaches.”
Throughout Europe, Mercury consistently sends zero waste to landfill. This is exemplified on projects in several countries including Ireland, the UK, Italy, France, Netherlands, Poland and Belgium. A concerted and considered approach to diverting waste from landfill has allowed the company to realise positive results. Utilising multiple waste streams on its projects, all Mercury sites have separate streams for different materials including timber, cardboard, metal, plastic, and recyclable copper.
In collaboration with clients, Mercury has implemented sustainable design and LEAN construction practices on projects throughout Europe,
which range from work in the Life Sciences to Data Centre sectors and beyond. Such approaches assist towards a reduction in construction waste and CO2 emissions from materials, as well as lowering the misuse and waste of raw materials. “We prioritise the use of modular, prefabricated and off-site manufacturing as much as possible to deliver the vision of our clients with the environment in mind,” said Mr O’Connor. “Mercury, in partnership with our clients and design teams, has delivered LEED and BREEAM projects across Europe for over 10 years.
We understand that responsible construction practices are key to addressing today’s urgent environmental challenges.”
As industry leaders Mercury embraces a digital approach- “Our tracking system guarantees up-to-date reporting on CO2 emissions and waste-related data, which means we can consistently update our approach to prioritise the prevention, reduction and reuse of any excess materials,” added Mr O’Connor.
Dedicated corporate governance
According to the company’s Responsible Business and Sustainability policy, Mercury applies integrity, inclusivity, legacy, stewardship, and transparency to all aspects of its business to deliver con tinuous improvement in areas of environmental,
economic, and social sustainability. Mercury continually assesses and monitors potential risks in our supply chain and adheres to strict risk assessment procedures for all new suppliers. Furthermore, Mercury regularly conducts audits of our project sites, in line with our compliance programme, to ensure that our policies and procedures are fully adhered to.
Mr O’Connor notes- “We are dedicated to adopting and promoting positive corporate governance approaches across all operations with a robust suite of policies and procedures in place.” This approach aims to guarantee a safe and sustainable environment for clients, employees, value chain partners, and the communities throughout Europe in which the company operates. Mercury is committed to improving the
culture of risk awareness within the organisation to support the delivery of sustainable construction solutions and profit growth.
As Mercury continues on the journey of sustainable growth and aligning the business
with our strategy, our purpose is always clear to deliver leading edge infrastructure to our customers and give our people the opportunity to reach their full potential.
The power of giving back Mercury’s support of local communities’ focuses on addressing seven of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs): No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Wellbeing, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities, and Life on Land. Mr O’Connor notes that the 2023 corporate giving plan ensured an alignment with its presence in each country, with Mercury supporting 60 local charities and organisations across nine countries. Since initial planning in January 2023, the spend on corporate giving increased by 6% to €420,000 overall.
Mercury aided several foundations in line with the “Life on Land” UN SDG, including the Danish Nature Foundation, an organisation which promotes the protection of the natural environment and endangered species throughout Denmark. “The special partnership began in 2022 with a donation from Mercury to acquire 3,090
square metres of land in Jutland and continued in 2023, where our donation was earmarked for the purchasing of 3,537 square metres of land for a project in Læsten Bakker,” noted Mr. O’Connor. “This was close to Rander and allowed for essential preservation and regeneration work on much needed meadows and grassland which have largely disappeared in Denmark.”
Furthermore, Mercury has also partnered with Children for a Better World, an organisation which works to combat the
consequences of child poverty in Germany. Mercury provided a significant donation to the Children Explorers programme, which offers over 4,800 at-risk children access to healthy nutrition, enabling them to gain self-esteem, life perspectives, and to build fundamental life skills, such as riding a bike, swimming or even taking a bus. The donation will support children in Berlin and Brandenburg.
Mr O’Connor noted: “With environmental, social and governance concerns now more important than ever, we are proud of the significant progress made over the past year in driving sustainable business practice across our entire operations and are dedicated to pushing our industry forward and bringing positive, sustainable impacts to our shareholders, from clients to local communities.” n
