The Gloucestershire Live Sustainability Award, which was introduced as a new category for 2022, had two worthy winners in its first year after a debate by the judges.
Sanctus (on the right hand side of photo above) and Commercial are two very different businesses with one run by a team of geo-environmental scientists and the other built around the office environment but with staff who are passionate about reducing the negative impact their business has on the environment. Here we find out more about Sanctus and what they did to win the sustainability award.
Who are Sanctus?
- Sanctus is the country’s leading Geo-Environmental consultant and contractor, working on some of the most challenging brownfield and blue/green infrastructure projects across Gloucestershire and the UK.
- For 20 years their core business had been Soil and Ground Water remediation but in the last 4 years they have strengthened their business with a drive towards the natural environment.
- A sustainable local business with their heart and HQ based in Quedgeley, with a team of 37 individuals who have adapted their thinking and actions sustainably for the longer term.
Following the success of winning the Gloucestershire Live Best Place to Work Award in 2019, Sanctus decided to enter for the Sustainability Award in order to showcase what they do and how they are having a positive sustainable impact on the natural and built environments in which they work.
As a team of Geo-environmental scientists, climate change and sustainability is widely and deeply embedded into their culture, mindset, business decisions, working methods and governance. They are collectively committed to working beyond remediation, prioritising their environment, building community, connecting people with natural environment, implementing nature based solutions, reducing their carbon footprint, whilst in the process, sharing economic and social benefits and leaving positive legacy for the future generations.
Project examples from the winning entry:
- Sanctus are currently championing environmentally friendly procurement, products, services, approaches, and choices in every aspect of their work.
- They are an ISO 14001 accredited company and use an effective environmental management system (EMS) which ensures there is a reduction of any negative environmental implications during operations.
- They believe in targeting zero waste to landfill and prior to the commencement of each project, the team sit with the client to run-through the development to understand the best solution to retain as much soil and re-useable aggregates as possible.
- All site activities involve a detailed strategy which is led by the end goal to reduce the impact on the environment and reuse and recycle where possible.
- Their environmental and ecology teams have re-encouraged opportunities for aquatic life, restored natural habitats of dozens of species, and re-introduced native species such as the water vole and freshwater crayfish.
Sanctus have designed and delivered the transformation of former power stations into renewable energy hubs, developed a new residential village in a former abandoned quarry saving hundreds of acres of green belt in the process, turned thousands of asbestos filled soils into wildflower meadows, turned fields into vineyards and created a wide range of new habitats and ecosystems. The judges all agreed they truly are worthy winners of this award.
