Our marketing material
Find out more about our use of colour and imagery and our editorial process
When showcasing our sustainability projects or achievements visually, we will only use images from actual initiatives we have undertaken. We ensure that any imagery used respects the cultural, environmental, and socio-economic context of the regions or communities depicted.
There are occasions when stock imagery is used or typical photographic alterations are made, such as increasing brightness, we ensure through our sign off processes our images will not mislead or give an exaggerated impression of our green efforts.
We champion our own people to share their messages, achievements and solutions to the climate crisis as means of proving authenticity and avoiding ‘big-brand’ claims.
Through our training and regional and national marketing and communications and sustainability teams, we play an advisory role in how these can be shared without greenwashing.
The use of green or earth tones in marketing materials can evoke feelings of environmental friendliness. We ensure that such colours are used responsibly and are not misleading, particularly as they feature heavily in our brand and depict other areas of our industry and operations such as Safety.
We use visual aids such as infographics to simplify and convey complex sustainability data or concepts. These visuals will always be based on substantiated facts and are designed in a manner that is easy to understand without misrepresenting the information.
Example: Our approach to decarbonisation
Example: CarboniCa information
Our editorial processes for green claims content follow the same as all our marketing and communications production. Our content is created in conjunction with any or all of the following people: an internal functional team such as HR, Sustainability & Social Value or Health & Safety, external partnership organisations such as social enterprises or our frameworks, our customers, such as council’s or academies and our end users, for example headteachers or university students.
Where any of those parties are involved in the production of material or are mentioned in the final output, their approval is sought before publication. At least two internal editors review our content, which would include a subject matter expert and members of the communications and marketing team.
All communications and marketing and social value and sustainability employees will receive training on our Green Claims Policy and The Anti-Greenwash Charter so they understand the issues and benefits. This will be refreshed annually.
We include clear documentation on our employee intranet, so all our employees can refer to it when needed.
We promote sustainability and responsible marketing practices across our network of clients, suppliers and subcontractors. Defined in this policy as ‘Stakeholders.’ We commit to answering any emails about our green claims within three working days.
Our strategy for stakeholder engagement involves creating content that informs about sustainability issues, including the environmental impact of the buildings we construct. Content is designed to be engaging and adapted to the audience, helping to raise awareness and understanding of environmental issues.
We engage in activities that encourage participation and create long term social value and meaningful sustainable outcomes. These activities are sometimes led by us or are supported by us in partnership with our stakeholders.
When working in partnership, we actively engage with our stakeholders to encourage alignment with our sustainability values. This involves referring to The Anti-Greenwash Charter, whilst also sharing knowledge and resources to enhance their understanding and implementation of responsible marketing practices. We commit to updating our stakeholders on our progress annually.
An example of our work in this arena is our partnership with Groundwork, who we work with to support biodiversity in urban and rural environments to benefit the communities in which we work.
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