Net Zero Plan 2025

1.  Our Context – Starting From a Position of Strength

Build Recruitment Limited is a specialist recruitment consultancy operating across the housing, construction, and property sectors. We connect employers with skilled professionals – from housing officers and site managers to quantity surveyors and development directors – working predominantly from our head office in Waterlooville, Hampshire.

As an office-based service business, Build Recruitment’s inherent carbon footprint is materially lower than that of many of the clients and sectors we serve. We do not operate a vehicle fleet, manage a manufacturing process, run physical construction sites, or maintain energy-intensive facilities. Our direct emissions profile is therefore modest by nature, and this is an important baseline reality that informs how we approach the net zero journey.

However, acknowledging low emissions is not the same as accepting the status quo. Build Recruitment operates within supply chains, sectors, and systems that carry significant environmental impact – and as a business with genuine influence over hiring decisions, employer relationships, and candidate career pathways, we recognise that our responsibility extends beyond the walls of our own office.

This Net Zero Plan sets out our honest, credible, and proportionate commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – aligned with the UK Government’s legally binding target and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) framework. It is a living document, reviewed annually, and reflects our belief that being a good business partner in the built environment means taking sustainability seriously at every level.

2.  Current Emissions Overview

Build Recruitment’s emissions profile is structured around three internationally recognised scopes. Given the nature of our business, the majority of our impact falls within Scope 3 – the emissions associated with our value chain and the activities of clients and candidates we work with.

Scope	Definition	Relevant Sources for Build Recruitment
Scope 1	Direct emissions owned or controlled by Build Recruitment	Gas heating at our office premises (if applicable). No company-owned vehicles are in operation.
Scope 2	Indirect emissions from purchased energy	Electricity consumption at our Waterlooville head office. Lighting, computers, servers, and HVAC systems.
Scope 3	All other indirect emissions across the value chain	Business travel (employee flights, rail, and private vehicle use). Supplier services (IT infrastructure, cloud computing, telecoms, print). Recruitment activity (candidate travel to interviews, commuting patterns). Downstream impact of placements in high-emission sectors.

2.1  Scope 1 – Direct Emissions

Build Recruitment’s Scope 1 emissions are limited. We do not operate a company vehicle fleet and have no on-site combustion or industrial processes. Any Scope 1 impact relates solely to gas-fired heating at our office premises. We will confirm the heating source at our Waterlooville site and explore conversion to low-carbon alternatives as part of our short-term actions.

2.2  Scope 2 – Purchased Energy

Our office energy consumption – electricity used to power computers, servers, lighting, and climate systems – represents our most measurable direct environmental impact. We are committed to transitioning to a verified 100% renewable electricity tariff and to reducing overall consumption through operational and behavioural changes.

2.3  Scope 3 – Value Chain Emissions

Scope 3 represents the most significant category for a business of our type. Key sources include:

• Business travel – employee use of rail, road, and air travel for client meetings, candidate visits, and conferences.
• Digital infrastructure – emissions associated with cloud computing, data storage, video conferencing platforms, and third-party IT services.
• Procurement – office supplies, print materials, outsourced services, and professional subscriptions.
• Candidate and client activity – travel undertaken by candidates to attend interviews or assessment centres arranged by Build Recruitment.
• Downstream influence – the sectors into which we place candidates (construction and housing) carry substantial embedded carbon. Our long-term influence here is indirect but real.

We will prioritise measurement and reduction of material Scope 3 categories over time, starting with business travel and digital services – areas where we have direct agency.

3.  Committed Actions and Milestones

Our commitments are structured across three horizons, reflecting the evolution of both our capacity to act and the wider policy, technology, and commercial landscape.

Short Term 2025–2030	•  Conduct a baseline carbon audit across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 – establishing an emissions inventory for the first time. •  Switch to a verified 100% renewable electricity tariff for our office premises. •  Introduce a formal travel policy that prioritises video conferencing and rail over air travel for all domestic journeys. •  Achieve carbon literacy training for all staff – ensuring everyone at Build Recruitment understands our emissions profile and their role in reducing it. •  Set Science Based Targets (SBTi) aligned to a 1.5°C pathway and publish our first annual sustainability report. •  Audit our key suppliers for sustainability credentials and introduce minimum environmental standards into procurement decisions. •  Reduce office energy consumption by 20% against the 2025 baseline through energy efficiency measures. •  Introduce a candidate and client travel guidance note encouraging sustainable travel to interviews and site visits.
Medium Term 2030–2040	•  Achieve at least a 50% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions against the 2025 baseline. •  Eliminate all Scope 1 gas heating and transition to electric or heat-pump alternatives upon lease renewal or retrofit opportunity. •  Expand carbon reporting to include full Scope 3 measurement – including candidate travel, digital infrastructure, and supply chain. •  Introduce sustainability criteria into all client Terms of Business and commercial frameworks, encouraging greener hiring and onboarding practices. •  Achieve ISO 14001 environmental management accreditation. •  Transition company IT hardware refresh cycles to prioritise refurbished, low-carbon, or sustainably sourced equipment. •  Engage meaningfully with clients in the housing and construction sectors to support their own net zero journeys through talent strategy – placing sustainability-skilled professionals and championing green skills development. •  Review and where appropriate offset residual unavoidable emissions using high-integrity, verified carbon removal schemes.
Long Term 2040–2050	•  Achieve net zero across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 by 2050 at the latest – with a target to reach net zero in Scopes 1 and 2 by 2040. •  Ensure any residual emissions are neutralised through permanent, verified carbon removal – not lower-quality offset credits. •  Embed net zero considerations into every aspect of business strategy, from office location decisions to partnership agreements. •  Become a recognised sustainability-forward employer and supply chain partner within the housing, construction, and property recruitment sector. •  Publish a final net zero achievement report confirming verification against our original 2025 baseline.

4.  Governance and Accountability

Delivering on this plan requires clear ownership, consistent reporting, and a culture in which sustainability is treated as a business priority – not a peripheral concern.

4.1  Internal Ownership

Role / Function	Responsibility
Group Operations Director	Overall accountability for this Net Zero Plan. Leads annual review, approves targets, and signs off sustainability reporting.
Senior Leadership Team	Collective responsibility for embedding sustainability commitments into commercial decisions, client relationships, and operational policy.
All Employees	Expected to complete carbon literacy training, adhere to the travel policy, and contribute ideas for reducing our environmental footprint.
Designated Sustainability Lead (to be appointed)	Day-to-day coordination of sustainability initiatives, data collection, supplier engagement, and progress tracking.

4.2  Progress Tracking and Reporting

Build Recruitment will track and report on our net zero commitments in the following ways:

• Annual Sustainability Report – published each year from 2026, reporting against our emissions baseline, milestones achieved, and commitments for the year ahead.
• Carbon Inventory Review – annual update of our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data, with methodology disclosed.
• Milestone Scorecard – a simple internal dashboard tracking progress against the short-, medium-, and long-term actions set out in Section 3.
• Client and Stakeholder Disclosure – our sustainability position will be made available to clients and candidates upon request, and will be referenced in tender responses, RFIs, and procurement questionnaires.
• Third-Party Verification – we will seek independent verification of our emissions data and net zero claims at key milestones (2030 and 2040) to ensure the integrity of our reporting.

4.3  Review Cycle

This document will be reviewed annually by the Group Operations Director and the Senior Leadership Team. Where material changes to our business model, premises, or regulatory environment require it, the plan will be updated between scheduled reviews. Version history will be maintained and disclosed.

5.  Our Commitment Statement

Build Recruitment is committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our entire business by 2050.

We recognise that, as a specialist recruitment business, our inherent carbon footprint is relatively small. But we also recognise that the sectors we serve – housing, construction, and property – are among the most carbon-intensive in the UK economy. That reality does not reduce our responsibility. It increases it.

We will measure what we emit. We will reduce what we can. We will offset only what we cannot eliminate. And we will be transparent about our progress – publishing our performance annually, setting science-based targets, and welcoming the scrutiny of clients, candidates, and the communities in which we operate.

This is not a document we intend to file and forget. It is a commitment we intend to keep.

Charlie Vietro-Burton  –  Group Operations Director, Build Recruitment Limited  –  April 2025