Willmott Dixon’s commitment to deliver social value alongside our customers projects ensures we leave a lasting legacy. We listen to the needs of our customers and local stakeholders to ensure that our projects create meaningful social, economic, and environmental benefits for local people and communities.
Collaboration is key to how we work. By working closely with customers, supply chain partners, social businesses, charities, and other organisations – we can achieve more than we can on our own.
Well ahead of his time, nearly 50 years ago, Peter Willmott, our former Chairman, described Willmott Dixon as a people-orientated business with a responsibility to make society a better place, beyond the buildings we deliver for customers. Peter sadly passed away earlier this year, but this ‘purpose beyond profit’ remains a fundamental part of the company’s ethos and Peter’s legacy today.
Here's the difference we made in 2023:
In 2023:
- We were the only construction company to receive a King’s Awards for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity.
- 100% of our projects implemented co-created customer social value plans.
- 90% of our social value programmes were classified as having a high impact by the beneficiaries.
- £577m social return on investment achieved in the year.
- 82% of our people took part in social activities in 2023.
- We helped 55 Individuals who were furthest from the job market find sustainable employment.
- £4.87m spent through social enterprises in 2023 up 88% from 2022.
As a company with a purpose beyond profit, we use the Government's social value model to guide our business practices. We identify, measure, and monitor the social, economic, and environmental impacts of our projects, beyond just the financial bottom line, to help the people and businesses in our communities to thrive.
We pride ourselves on accurate reporting that truly reflects our positive impact on the people and communities we work with. We are one of the only contractors to conduct regular internal audits and have our data externally verified. We also assess the impact of our activities using qualitative feedback assessment and social return on investment accounting. One of the methods we use is the externally verified National TOMs (Themes Measures and Outcomes) proxy values. Our data ensures that:
- We can accurately report our performance against the promises that we have made to our customers and their communities.
- We can drive year-on-year improvements towards our 2030 ambitions.
Our 2030 Now or Never ambitions