RJ O’BRIEN BUILDING CONTRACTORS

RJ O’Brien Building Contractors Ltd. supports Enterprise Irelands drive for Corporate social responsibilities.

Ireland’s National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility 2017-2020, retains the vision established in the first National Plan on CSR that “Ireland will be recognised as a Centre of Excellence for responsible and sustainable business practice through the adoption and implementation of best practice in CSR in enterprises and organisations.” Toward Responsible Business is an action-orientated plan with 17 actions aimed at supporting businesses and organisations of all sizes and all sectors to adopt responsible business practices.

The plan centres on Four Core Dimensions of CSR:

There is a growing awareness amongst businesses in Ireland of Corporate Social Responsibility, 84% of business view CSR as being moderately or very important to business. As a member of the CSR Stakeholder Forum, Enterprise Ireland is working with other Government Departments and Agencies, representatives of the business sector and civil society, and the wider community to assist with achieving the Strategic Goals identified in Towards Responsible Business;

Awareness

Help employers and employees better understand the benefits of embedding CSR and responsible business practices into the day-to-day activities of businesses operating in Ireland

Access

Support the development of effective CSR practices in business through accessible and appropriate information resources
Support: Support organisations by promoting and highlighting best practice CSR, CSR news and events

Policy Alignment

Advocate and support relevant policy priorities across Government Departments and their agencies, specifically those which complement CSR, including implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, Business and Human Rights, Healthy Workplaces Framework, etc.

CSR and SMEs

The term Corporate Social Responsibility is often seen as something only done by large corporates, however it has huge benefits for SMEs and micro enterprises too. Acting in a way that shows a level of care for staff, community and customers is a good start to a strong CSR ethos. For most small and medium-sized enterprises, especially micro enterprises, CSR is likely to remain informal and intuitive, whereas larger enterprises may have dedicated CSR resources and formal CSR programme. Carefully implemented CSR policies can deliver tangible benefits to SMEs, helping them to:

• Win new business and increase customer retention;
• Develop and enhance relationships with suppliers and networks;
• Attract, retain and maintain a happy workforce and become an employer of choice;
• Save money on energy and operating costs and manage risk;
• Improve your business reputation;
• Attract investment and funding opportunities.

Additional information on CSR for SMEs can be found through the CSR Hub which provides examples of best practice case studies and advice and support for businesses who are interested in learning more about Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Environment

We, at RJ O’Brien Building Contractors Ltd. are advocates in green building practices and environmental responsibilities.
Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle.

From planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages.

The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.
Our business plan includes a commitment to help refocus the construction sector and customer to lean more favourably in this direction. We are committed in protecting natural resources that have been taken for granted by the construction sector in the past by reducing our environmental footprint.

RJ O’Brien Building Contractors Ltd staff are fully aware of the long-term advantages in reducing our environmental footprint. A list of procedures on how to help reduce waste materials and how to recycle building materials is available to help minimise all waste output.
Energy, water, packaging and solid waste are areas where we can make the biggest impact. Our vision is to reduce our existing output and usage by an additional 60% before 2020.

In 2016, the CIF (Construction Industry Federation) suggested a range of solutions pertaining to the usage of Article 27 and the ‘end of waste’ processes that could declassify certain material as a waste. These matters have not yet been resolved but are being discussed and a resolve is to due shortly.

To further facilitate these implementations, we have established a waste management procedure for each site project. This will be included in the Safety & Health Plan. These procedures are always evolving and changing to improve on existing actions. We endeavour to maintain the highest environmental standards in all our activities.

Staff Health & Wellbeing

Looking after the health and wellbeing of our staff directly contributes to the delivery of quality care and finish. Tools and resources are available to help support and further embed health and wellbeing in our staffs work day.
Workplace health and wellbeing is a state of being for each employee and employer which enables each individual to reach and maintain their full potential in the workplace by ensuring their work ability through the promotion of mental, physical, emotional and psychological health and wellbeing.
Staff Wellbeing incorporates the following resources:

• Occupational Health
• Staff Health and Safety

We wanted to find a way to harness this enthusiasm for wellbeing and provide a clear framework to help make our workplaces happier and healthier.
A wellbeing policy is in place to help employees fulfil and maintain their full potential in the workplace.