Sector special: Building sustainable communities through fair tax


In this series for the Fair Tax Foundation, our accredited organisations tell us how the Fair Tax Mark has helped open opportunities or overcome challenges specific to their sector. Here, Gleeson CFO Stefan Allanson and Marshalls Head of ESG Reporting Jo Holmes, share joined-up thinking on sustainability in building and construction.

The UK’s building sector is vital to a thriving society, but a shifting political, inflationary and economic environment has thrown up challenges for the sector.

One area of opportunity, however, is in sustainability. With construction accounting for around 40% of total UK carbon emissions, the demand for more sustainable materials is increasing.

Fair Tax Mark businesses in the sector are tackling this challenge head on, and say being accredited can help demonstrate a commitment to sustainability by contributing to the communities they operate in.

“As a housebuilder we are committed to creating sustainable communities that contribute positively to the local area,” said Stefan Allanson, CFO at Gleeson, a FTSE-listed housebuilder in the Midlands, Yorkshire and North of England.

“The Fair Tax Mark helps us reinforce this multi-faceted commitment to sustainability to our shareholders and customers.”

In 2020 Gleeson were the first housebuilder to be awarded the Fair Tax Mark, revising their tax strategy to explicitly shun both tax haven abuse and tax avoidance. 

At building products manufacturer Marshalls, Head of ESG Reporting Jo Holmes said: “As a manufacturer of building products, we’re part of the infrastructure, so, it’s important to us that we demonstrate that commitment to our infrastructure by contributing to it and doing so transparently via the Fair Tax Mark.”

Marshalls are a complete external landscaping, interior design, paving and flooring products business – from planning and engineering, to guidance and delivery. They were accredited for the 10th time this year.

Building credibility

Another area Holmes feels the Fair Tax Mark adds value to accredited businesses in the sector is building trust and credibility with stakeholders.

“The accreditation highlights our dedication to transparency and responsible business practices, reassuring stakeholders of our integrity,” Holmes said.

“It helps build trust and credibility with our stakeholders, including customers, investors, and partners, reinforcing our commitment to ethical practices. We understand how important social value is to our customers, and being Fair Tax accredited enables us to align our social values with those of our customers, too.”

 

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