Premier Modular, one of the UK’s leading offsite construction specialists, has been awarded Europe’s first ESG certification.
Following a rigorous independent audit conducted by global testing, inspection and certification specialists SGS, Premier has been assessed and certified for its management and performance in Environmental, Social and Governance.
According to David Harris (pictured left), Managing Director of Premier Modular: “Our aim is to radically improve the sustainability of the built environment with our approach to construction, and to generate social value across all our building projects and operations. We are therefore delighted to be the very first company in Europe to receive the new certification developed by SGS. This is the next step in our ESG journey, and it demonstrates our serious commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
“This independent endorsement gives all our stakeholders — staff, customers, supply chain, and investors — complete assurance that we are evaluating our ESG performance in line with the latest best practice, and that our ESG data and analysis are both accurate and transparent.
“This has been an important initiative in helping us to advance our commitment to reducing carbon emissions within Premier and in the long-term operation of our modular buildings for both rental and permanent space. And by prioritising social value in everything we do, we have the potential to unlock a range of social, economic, and environmental benefits for the communities we work in.”
Jonathan Hall, Global Head for Certification Services at SGS said: “The ESG standard developed by SGS focuses on the most important environmental, social and governance risks to a company. This enables Premier to better assess, monitor and evaluate ESG at different stages, allowing it to further reduce energy consumption across its operations, optimise material efficiencies in manufacturing, manage risk more effectively, demonstrate strong leadership in ESG, and enhance employee engagement.
“The Premier team has worked really hard to attain this European first and we would like to congratulate them on this significant achievement.”
A key aspect of Premier’s ESG commitment is reducing carbon footprint and a number of new initiatives are underway. An R&D project is in progress looking at alternative materials for modular building manufacture, which have lower embodied carbon, and Premier will be launching a new range of sustainability and fabric first options for its building rental fleet this year.
Premier has a zero waste to landfill policy in the manufacture of its buildings. Its modular buildings are fully re-useable, reconfigurable, relocatable, and the steel-framed structures are infinitely recyclable, meeting decarbonisation goals.
Low and zero carbon technologies can also be specified to incorporate renewable energy into its buildings for both rental and permanent space.
