Corporate Social Responsibility

We have continued to make steady progress on our corporate governance, environmental, safety and social objectives, reflecting our continued dedication to working towards achieving industry best practice in all those areas.

To this end we have recently published our first CSR brochure, which highlights the companies ethics and commitment to all related aspects.

To request your copy of the brochure please email info@forticrete.com with the subject heading "CSR Brochure" or alternatively download it below.

Corporate Governance

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush in July 2002 applies to public companies in the US and those serving the companies, such as audit committees, auditors and attorneys. It also affects foreign firms with secondary listings on the New York Stock Exchange. The Act's stated purpose is "to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes

The Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, and a provision in the UK Combined Code, require the company to put certain procedures in place which facilitate employee complaints or confidential or anonymous submission of information or to raise, in confidence, concerns regarding accounting or auditing matters. Forticrete has established procedures for handling employee concerns. For example, our Code of Business Conduct refers to the Group's internal grievance procedures and indicates the methods by which employees may internally communicate any concerns that they may have.

The Company has also established confidential telephone hotlines(November 2004). All employees in the company have been informed of this facility by letter.

Environmental

Forticrete's commitment to the UK building industry goes far beyond the creation of the highest quality products. Certainly the highest standards of manufacture are achieved and adhered to. This is evidence in the fact that the Forticrete Group is registered with BSI under ISO 9001:2000 for quality management systems.

Obviously the company's products are designed and produced to the highest standards, otherwise so many of them would not be able to fly the prestigious BSI Kitemark.

But beyond this are factors such as the Company's dedication to the environment in which its products are used. This dedication goes much further than the creation of products, which enhance the environment aesthetically. Forticrete Group takes its Environmental responsibilities very seriously and is certificated to the International Environmental Standard BS. EN ISO 14001: 2004

In the environmental department we now have four employees who are trained through BSI to carry out full and formal internal audits.

Forticrete has a current environmental policy that is endorsed and regularly reviewed by top-level management and it is accessible to all members of staff and the general public.

Health & Safety

In late 2005 we launched our "Raising the bar" safety campaign.  The aim was to continue with the year on year reduction in accident numbers and to eliminate lost time accidents.

Human resources in Health and safety was identified as an area in need of improvement and at the start of 2006 both the Masonry and the Roofing, Walling and Cast Stone business units appointed there own Health and Safety managers.  Working within their own business units but with a reporting structure into the group Health and Safety management and cross fertilisation of best practice, these managers set about identifying areas of improvement and setting in place procedures and systems aimed at achieving set objectives and targets with the ultimate aim of eliminating lost time.

The training of all our employees in the areas of Environmental, Health and Safety and quality forms are integral part of our business planning and operational procedures.  In Health and Safety all works managers are certificated to NEBOSH standards, team leaders and supervisors are trained to IOSH standards and all employees have specific training relevant to their employment and also safety awareness training covering all legal and procedural requirements