BRUM GREEN SHAME AS WOLVO’S CARILLION HONOURED

19-05-2008

Wolverhampton builders Carillion have been named as one of the UK’s greenest companies in a national newspaper. A Black Country metal-bashing firm have also been praised – but there’s no representation from Birmingham’s business community.

The Sunday Times which originated the Rich List has come up with the new format in recognition of changing times.

Firms enter voluntarily, and are then judged according to a range of criteria – including assessments by their own staff which accounted for 30% of the total score.

As a construction company employing 40,000 people Carillion inevitably has a relatively high carbon footprint, but the Green List is about measuring relative improvements in eco-performance.

They came top in the category for big and mid-sized companies with “high impact” and finished second overall.

The company has already started reducing Co2 emissions and aims to halve its 2006 levels by 2010; energy consumption at their Wolverhampton HQ was cut by 12% last year.

Oldbury steel supplier Metsec whose clients include the O2 centre in Greenwich were ranked 21st overall, gaining credit for their recycling policies and reducing the temperature of their factory by 1 degree Celsius.

No Birmingham firms made the Top 50.