NG Bailey sets the standard in waste reduction

In its ninth annual sustainability report, NG Bailey revealed that it had reduced customers’ carbon emissions by over 102,000 tonnes in the last year.

The Ilkley-based engineering firm also reduced CO2 emissions per employee by 15 per cent in the last three years.

Cal Bailey, group sustainability director, told The Yorkshire Post: “Sustainability has a lot to do with eliminating waste in business. Sustainability will save you money not cost you money, if it’s done well.

“We saved a huge cost in our estate by becoming more sustainable.”

NG Bailey has also doubled the number of apprenticeship schemes on offer and apprentices across the company, over the last three years.

Mr Bailey said apprenticeships were very important to the firm. He said: “They are our principle source of recruitment, the single biggest source.

“I’ve just led induction courses for all those new apprentices. We regard those young apprentices the technical future of our business.

“We also see it as our contribution to the community in Yorkshire because I think one of the greatest tragedies is when a youngster just has no opportunity.”

The engineering company said it receives over 4,000 applications for places on its apprenticeships.

“We have more applicants per place than Oxford and Cambridge,” says the group sustainability director.

Mr Bailey added that the young people that come into the business “are highly motivated” and end up being leaders of the business in the future.

“We end up with some outstanding young engineers, who become our design managers, they become our project managers, they become operations directors in years to come,” he said.

Mr Bailey added: “We’re trying to offer them training that will enable them to work anywhere in the world with skills that are universally valued.”

A part of the group’s sustainability remit is to work with schools to encourage more young people into STEM careers. NG Bailey runs what it calls the Inspire programme, where the business engages with young people to show the opportunities available to them in the field of STEM.

“It’s very helpful for teachers to have businesses come in and describe the opportunities available,” Mr Bailey said.

The Inspire schools programme has reached over 3,000 students across the UK.

The Ilkley-based group launch-ed One Approach, an 18-point commitment across six areas of its business to be more sustainable.

“I am committed to making sure we achieve all 18 of those commitments,” said Mr Bailey.

He admits that this time last year he was “particularly concerned” about the target to achieve a carbon reduction across NG Bailey of 20 per cent.

He said: “Last year that was looking a tough target. This year I’m pleased to say we’ve improved our performance. We are now three years into our strategy, achieving a 15 per cent reduction towards that target of 20.

“That’s a major achievement for us. It’s saving us a lot of money. It is reducing our carbon footprint significantly.”

NG Bailey, which has 2,700 staff across the group at the moment, says a key part of the reduction in carbon footprint comes from employees buying into the philosophy and also because of systems that have been put in place.

In most of the firm’s offices there is now a switch near the door. The last person out of the office presses the switch and it turns off the power circuit, across the non-critical areas of the office.

“It doesn’t switch off the servers, that’s the critical area, but it does switch off the rest. It saves us a lot of energy,” Mr Bailey said.

Other simple measures such as using fuel-efficient lighting have also helped NG Bailey on its carbon cutting drive.

“It’s simple, small behaviours that together have a big impact,” added Mr Bailey.

Firm has a sustainable approach

Chief executive of NG Bailey, David Hurcomb said One Approach is “a long-term commitment in social, economic and environmental sustainability”.

The independent engineering, IT and facilities services group, tripled its operating profit in the year ending February 26, 2016 to £6m and increased its sales by 12 per cent to £408m.

The company’s secured order book rose 14 per cent to a record £673m.

Ilkley-based NG Bailey was founded in 1921 and has trained, on average, 140 apprentices every year since 1969.