Evermill Brickwork Limited –

As an integral part of every tender proposal, we systematically maximise value for money to clients by producing measurable, specific, deliverable social value proposals.

Our approach to social value aims to leverage our experience of delivering tangible benefits to public sector bodies and blue-chip private organisations.

Apprenticeships

Highly established and with a successful track record, our apprenticeship scheme has enabled us to consistently provide valuable upskilling and career advancement to young people throughout South Yorkshire. One of our current employees Ryan Bailey demonstrates our capacity to provide meaningful training that supports sustained employment.

Employed as a commercial apprentice as part of the social value aspect of our contract building new homes in Sheffield, Ryan is working toward a Level 4 qualification in construction, working on a day-release system where 20% of his time is spent at a local building college. Ryan will receive support, enabling him to continue his professional development by working towards a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)-accredited quantity surveying degree.

Supporting the local economy

Procurement is undertaken specifically for each project, enabling us to hand-pick a diverse supply chain that delivers considerable economic benefit to clients’ communities by maximising the proportion of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) it incorporates. This ensures the spending of our clients remains in the local economy and that the compounding benefits of the multiplier effect result in a high return on investment (i.e. funding the original project).

Across our public sector contracts in the last 12 months, we have maintained above 75.68% local expenditure, with notable examples including utilising VSME’s to purchase our materials on school projects for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

Training opportunities

Providing skills training can improve the health of the local economy by raising its inhabitants’ employability, with corresponding earning increases then highly likely to be spent with local businesses, a positive feedback loop with potentially large benefits for our clients.

In the past, our skills training has involved:

• One- or two-week work experience placements for key stage 4 (GCSE) young people at our head office to gain first-hand insight into the construction industry, supporting their future career choices and the strength of their CVs. On average, five such opportunities are successfully completed per year. Typically, opportunities are targeted via advertisements on social media and via school contacts at pupils local to the project we are working on.
• School visits, targeted at secondary school pupils in the local area and providing an hour-long presentation and Q&A to provide valuable careers advice and construction industry information, as well as publicise potential apprenticeship opportunities.
• Digital skills training, delivered on our behalf via Learning Curve Group. Providing participants with essential skills to thrive in the modern workplace, such as using common software programmes (e.g. Word), online safety and security and basic computer skills, 10 six-week courses were funded as part of one of our new build contracts in 2019, delivering new build social housing in Barnsley.

Community benefit and engagement

Groups such as resident associations, charities, community centres and any other voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE) organisations often form a key part of our social value methodology. In addition to delivering measurable social return on investment for clients, these practices support customer satisfaction and communities’ perception of their local authority.

Examples of previous initiatives include:

• Sponsoring local sports teams, such as Rockingham Cricket Club & Oulton Ladies ARLFC
• Empowering employees to take paid volunteering days without any impact on their annual leave entitlement, assisting local organisations with specific projects free of charge, such as a delivery team of 5 staff redecorating nursing home in 2023, or staff working on our Beacon House project in 2021 using their weekend to demolish redundant sections of an old sports club.

Environmental management and carbon offsetting

Recognising the considerable carbon footprint of construction via transport, carbon-intensive materials manufacturing from raw resources (particularly concrete) and operating fossil-fuel-powered plant and machinery, we always leverage our environmental management system (EMS) to mitigate our environmental impact, aligning us with our client’s environmental goals.

Examples include offsetting up to 75% of projects’ carbon emissions through working with E-Forests, whose tree-planting can be targeted to the project’s local authority area, which enables us to secure air quality and ecological benefits for clients. For example, five trees were planted to partially offset our recent project at Lavender Fields Older Persons Living in York, demonstrable via a certificate. To ensure a methodical, robust approach, emissions are calculated using Environment Agency-approved carbon calculators, with estimated figures produced based on the quantity and type of materials used.