Forcia

Forcia is a well-known fit out contractor operating in the London property market. They recognise the impact their work has on the environment, as well as the social communities and the habitats in which they operate. 

Contractors are under increasing pressure to have sustainable practices in place and to disclose their ESG performance. Many tenders and bids now ask for details regarding a contractor’s ESG strategy and sustainable site practices. However, there is currently no recognised standard for benchmarking contractors ESG requirements. In order to reflect the responsibility of having sustainable practices in place, Forcia partnered with Envision to improve their ESG approach. An improved ESG strategy was created by strengthening their existing policies, as well as adding industry-leading approaches to their current practices. The result was a twofold focus on both the ambition of mitigating any potential negative impact their operation may have on the environment and utilising any opportunity that arises to bring additional value to every project. Considerations were given to site practices, office operations, sub-contractors and supply chains. 

Envision began the project by analysing the policies that Forcia had in place and highlighting any gaps where improvements could be made. The second step was performing a benchmarking exercise researching Forcia’s competitors to determine best-practice ESG initiatives of the industry, and to align the new strategy to current trends, stakeholder expectations, and regulatory requirements. The intention of this was to also determine ways of facilitating transparent communication with the stakeholders, including clients, investors, employees, and the community.

This exercise helped create a comprehensive framework for Forcia’s ESG strategy. Environmental, Social, and Governance policies were developed or created, and each of these is accompanied by targets, timeframes, and steps towards implementation.  

Two additional materials have been created to support the implementation of the strategies and to document progress towards improvement. The first is an on-site tool that can be used by the site manager to record energy and water use, the amount of waste generated, community engagement events, initiatives to reduce single use plastics, and other ESG metrics recorded.

The second related to project specific targets. Forcia targets achieving sustainability certifications such as BREEAM on a minimum of 50% of its projects. To support this, Envision created a checklist that serves as a comprehensive guide for embarking on a BREEAM fit-out assessments. It highlights essential considerations and evidence requirements, crucial for a successful process.