Tackling climate change
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time and we are focused on reducing our contributions.
In 2019, we committed to reducing our emissions by 30% by 2030 from a FY18 baseline - this is our ‘30 by 30’ target. We were the first in our industry in Australasia to set a Science-Based Target (SBT) for carbon reduction.
In 2023, we further committed to being Net-Zero carbon by FY50.
Each of our business units has a Carbon Reduction Roadmap to achieve our ‘30 by 30’ target, and we are now putting plans in place for our operations, and working with our suppliers, to meet Net Zero by 2050.
In FY24, our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for our ongoing operations were 969 thousand tonnes of CO2e (kt CO2e), which is a reduction of 4% from FY23 and a reduction of just over 19% from our baseline year of FY18. Our supply chain (Scope 3) emissions were 1,326 kt CO2e in FY24, which is a 7% decrease from FY23 (see our FY24 Annual Report for more details on reporting methodology).
Some of our initiatives
We have launched many initiatives and products across the business that are helping us to achieve our carbon goals and contributing to better outcomes for New Zealand and Australia. Some examples are:
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New Zealand’s lowest carbon cement
Our Concrete Division business Golden Bay's Ecosure cement is New Zealand’s lowest carbon cement. EcoSure’s reduced carbon footprint includes the use of waste tyres within the cement production process both reducing carbon emissions and diverting waste away from landfill. In FY24, the business used under 18,000 tonnes of waste tyres, which together with waste wood achieved a coal substitution of 47%, a significant increased from the 22% achieved before upgrading the facility to be able to use tyres. The embodied carbon and life cycle assessment for the product are available in the Ecosure Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
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Green electricity for our Australian businesses
Our Australian businesses are becoming less carbon intensive both as a result of the electricity grid in Australia decarbonising and due to our actions to install and purchase green electricity. The rooftop solar installation constructed in FY24 for one of our Laminex operations in Queensland will provide a reduction of approximately 900 t CO2e in FY25 and we are underway with a second installation.
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LowCO Home: Homes fit for a lower-carbon future
In January 2024, Fletcher Living finished New Zealand’s first ‘low carbon’ home, known as LowCO home. The home will emit seven times less carbon over its lifetime (embodied and operational), in-line with emissions budgets to keep global warming within the 1.5 °C limit. It also uses 80% less potable water, and received the highest Homestar (v5) rating of 10 Stars by the New Zealand Green Building Council.
Products and processes to be proud of
Over the past years, we have had a clear focus on offering products with sustainability certifications to our customers, playing our part to decarbonise the building sector and supporting our customers’ own sustainability goals.
Our product revenue from sustainably certified products has increased from 61% in FY22 to 74% in FY24, almost reaching our goal of 75% by FY26. This included revenue from products that hold Type I environmental labels such as Eco Choice Aotearoa and Global GreenTag GreenRate, or Type III certification such as Environmental Product Declarations.
This is how we calculated it (PDF) >>
Search and view our Environmental Product Declarations >>
Reducing our waste and building up the circular economy
We are seeking opportunities to reduce or reuse waste, and working with customers and partners to drive positive change through the circular economy. In FY24 we recycled 171,000 tonnes of waste and sent 25,000 tonnes to landfill, achieving 87% diversion of waste from landfill and exceeding our target to achieve >70%.
Circular economy requires more than waste reduction, it is also about innovation within our sector to reduce the overall use of materials. While we are at an early stage with circular economy, we have already implemented several initiatives. For example, we acquired The Urban Quarry in FY23, which turned over 30,000 tonnes of waste concrete into recycled aggregates in FY24, not only removing waste from landfill, but also providing quality materials to our customers.
The belief that all injuries are preventable
Across the business, we have re-written our safety story and created a culture we are proud of. "Protect" is a value for us and we have been busy shifting our mindset.
We have put in place a multi-year programme to improve safety in our workplaces driven by the belief that all injuries are preventable.
In 2021, we launched our line-led Safety Leadership Programme providing a purpose-built framework for leadership development to enhance safety across the organisation. In FY24, we launched the Protect Culture Maturity Framework (or ‘Colours Framework’), supporting our businesses, teams, and individuals as their safety culture shifts from reactive, at-risk compliance cultures through to more team-based, interdependent and high performing safety cultures.
Our leaders’ efforts are making a difference in FY24:
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87% of all our people believe that all injuries are preventable, and 90% believe leaders take responsibility for safety at work.
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89% of our sites were injury free.
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12,000 Critical Control Verifications were performed by line leaders. By the end of FY24, 59% of critical risks were considered “fully controlled”, that means all the critical controls were in place when checked.
Supporting our people
By embedding sustainability across all that we do, we are also showing care to the people we work and connect with every day. We have introduced market-leading policies and processes to ensure everyone feels welcome.
Some of our initiatives
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In 2022, we introduced a market-leading parental leave policy that includes enhanced paid leave options for primary carers, four weeks paid secondary carers leave and ‘phased return to work options’ to help our people transition back in to work when they return from parental leave.
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In 2022, we introduced paid Gender Affirmation Leave and Transitioning at Work Guidelines.
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Our people-led action groups – Lōkahi, Tātai, the Equality Network Group, and FB Pride promote inclusion and mentoring across our business.
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We are measuring gender pay parity and working to close the gap. It was 5.2% in FY23 and 5.1% in FY24.
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In FY24, the overall proportion of women in leadership was 23.2%, an increase from 20.7% in FY23.
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We appointed 4 new female General Managers in FY24, increasing the businesses run by women to 22%, from 6% in FY23.
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We believe Fletcher Building is a place where our people can develop personally and professionally. Our people took over 195,000 hours of training in FY23, and over 162,000 hours in FY24.
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For the times when life or work isn’t going so well, our wrap around Employee Assistance Programme is there to give our people access to qualified professionals who can help them access support for personal, health and wellbeing, family and other issues.
These are just some examples. Check out our Careers section for more information on how we support our people.
Our communities at the heart
We genuinely believe our purpose cannot be achieved unless we have our community, our suppliers, and our customers at the heart of what we do.
We are working with great organisations and communities to create local impact, while creating policies to ensure the ethical treatment of people who work with us.
We support labour rights and freedom of association for our people and within in our supply chain, and 24% of our workforce are part of a union and/or covered by collective bargaining agreements in FY24.
Some of our initiatives
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In Australia, FY23 saw the establishment of Fletcher Building’s own Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Endorsed by Reconciliation Australia (the lead governing body for reconciliation in Australia), the plan sets out our commitment to tangible and impactful actions, both in the present and the future, to actively contribute to the ongoing process of reconciliation.
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Since 2019 Fletcher Living’s Canterbury team has been helping to replant sections of the Port Hills.
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Fletcher Living is teaming up with Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Whenua Hoko Holdings Ltd to build 160 homes in Albany.
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Fletcher Construction is a member of Amotai, which enables diversity in their supply chain. Amotai connects Māori and Pasifika-owned businesses with buyers wanting to purchase goods, services and works.
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Our Fletcher Building Employee Education Fund has been providing financial assistance to our employees and their families wanting to further their education and professional development for over 20 years.
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The Fletcher Building Employee Welfare Fund supports our people and their families financially in the event of death, disability or financial hardship resulting from unexpected medical misfortune
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To help everyone to get into a great career with us, we have a range of youth development and student scholarships including First Foundation, TupuToa, and other internship and graduate positions.
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Our Human Rights Policy and our Supplier Code of Conduct, outlines how we and our suppliers will ensure ethical treatment of people who work with us.
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We are focused on identifying areas with potential risk for forms of modern slavery in our supply chain, and how we manage and address these risks is outlined in our completed risk assessments to identify where to focus. We published our second Modern Slavery Statement in FY23.
Recognition on a global scale
Our sustainability programmes, initiatives, and transparent reporting have earnt us recognition on a global scale, putting us amongst the top sustainability leaders in the world.
Disclosing our emissions and working with our supply chain
We actively disclose our carbon emissions and report them to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CPD). In 2023, we obtained a CDP rating of A- and a CDP Supplier engagement rating of A-, showing that CDP regard us as following best practise and as a leader in our sector.
S&P Sustainability Assessment
Each year, we assess our sustainability performance against the S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment. In 2023, we are pleased to be members of the DJSI Australia index, and the S&P Global 2023 Sustainability Yearbook. Our inclusion in this globally recognised report acknowledges us in the top 15% of companies globally for sustainability in our industry.