Sustainability
& environment

1. Executive commitment

Farrells Commercial Construction is committed to industry leadership in sustainable construction across Canterbury. We recognise that commercial construction has significant environmental impacts through material extraction, embodied carbon, waste generation, energy consumption, and water use.
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We commit to:

• Reducing our environmental footprint across all operations
• Embedding sustainability into governance and strategic planning
• Supporting New Zealand’s transition to a low-carbon economy
• Advancing circular economy principles
• Delivering resilient, future-focused commercial buildings
• Protecting ecosystems and local waterways
• Enhancing the wellbeing of our people and communities

The Managing Director and Leadership Team accept ultimate accountability for environmental performance.

2. ISO 14001 Environmental management system

Farrells Commercial Construction operates an Environmental Management System (EMS) aligned with ISO 14001 principles.
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We will:

• Identify environmental aspects, impacts, risks, and opportunities
• Maintain a compliance obligations register
• Establish measurable objectives and targets
• Integrate environmental risk into project planning processes
• Conduct internal audits and management reviews
• Implement corrective and preventive actions
• Drive continual improvement.

3. Governance & accountability

• Environmental performance is reviewed quarterly at Senior Leadership level
• A dedicated Environmental & Sustainability Manager (Environmental Officer) is appointed
• Project Managers are accountable for site environmental compliance
• Major projects require project-specific Environmental Management Plans (EMPs)

Annual sustainability reporting will be prepared for leadership review.

4. Measurable environmental targets

Farrells Commercial Construction commits to the following minimum targets:
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‍Carbon

• Establish full Scope 1 and 2 emissions baseline within 12 months
• Measure key Scope 3 emissions (materials and transport) within 24 months
• Reduce operational emissions by 40% within five years
• Transition 50% of light vehicle fleet to hybrid or electric by 2030

‍Waste

• Minimum 80% diversion from landfill across projects by 2028
• Zero uncontrolled waste disposal on all sites

‍Water

• Establish water use baselines for major projects
• Achieve 20% reduction in site water consumption intensity within five years

Targets will be reviewed and strengthened regularly.

5. Circular economy leadership

We will actively embed circular economy principles across our business:

• Prioritise design for adaptability and disassembly
• Encourage modular and prefabricated construction
• Promote material recovery and reuse strategies
• Specify materials with recycled content where possible
• Reduce reliance on virgin finite resources
• Support supplier take-back schemes
• Implement uniform recycling and textile recovery programmes