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Taylor Wimpey aims to be a responsive company that listens to and learns from a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. Our primary stakeholders are:
We regularly and proactively engage with the above mentioned stakeholder groups and maintain an extremely thorough investor relations programme. Members of our senior management team represent the Company on a wide range of government, industry and other committees and steering groups.
For example, we engage regularly with the Government. We also work closely with the HBF (Home Builders Federation) and regularly engage at a senior level with the NHBC (National House-Building Council). We are involved with other organisations such as the Zero Carbon Hub and are the only housebuilder represented on the technical advisory group that set the new Lifetime Homes Standard that was published during 2010.
In addition, we work with charities, non-governmental and other organisations on specific projects or at particular developments. Examples include working extensively with the National Trust and Leeds Metropolitan University at our Stamford Brook development in Altrincham.
We continue to be a member of NextGeneration (which represents investors, non-governmental organisations and the affordable housing sector) and to participate in the organisation’s sustainability benchmarks.
The Board actively seeks and encourages engagement with major institutional shareholders and other stakeholders and has put in place arrangements designed to facilitate contact about business, governance, remuneration and other issues. This provides the opportunity for meetings with the Chairman, the Senior Independent Director as well as the Group Chief Executive, Group Finance Director and other Executives in order to establish a mutual understanding of objectives. The Company also operates a structured programme of investor relations, based on formal announcements and publications covering the full year and half year results. There are associated briefings for stockbroking analysts and investors.
The Board encourages all shareholders to participate in the Annual General Meeting which is attended by all Directors. Information about the Company, including full year and half year results and other major announcements, is published on the Company's Web site.
We aim to treat customers well, communicate effectively and provide homes of the highest quality. In the UK, our customers are surveyed by the HBF (Home Builders Federation) eight weeks after completion and the NHBC (National House-Building Council) nine months after completion. The survey results form a key part of our customer service management (CSM) system.
Our UK Customer Journey consists of seven customer care milestones and we have a series of KPIs in place to monitor each business unit’s performance in this area.
We also communicate with our customers about the sustainability features of our homes and communities. We increasingly provide sustainability related information in brochures and at our show homes.
The Company is committed to ensuring open and regular communication throughout the Group on both business related issues and issues of general interest.
We keep employees informed about Company news and developments via emails and our Company intranets. UK employees can opt to receive e-mail news alerts.
In the UK, Taylor Wimpey normally conducts an employee survey every two years, although recent surveys have been postponed due to market conditions. The next surveys for Taylor Wimpey are due in 2011.
We are committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and a good neighbour in the communities in which we operate. Community consultation is an important part of the planning process for new developments in the UK and we are committed to engaging with and consulting local communities and other relevant stakeholders wherever possible. We aim to work with communities to find the best solutions to development and we try to ensure that our developments enhance local communities. We also support community and charitable organisations and encourage our employees to get involved through volunteering and fundraising.
We have protocols in place in the UK to ensure that adequate consultation takes place, including a bespoke planning application template for use by our regional businesses. The exact nature of our community engagement depends on the scale and scope of each individual development. More extensive community engagement tends to take place on larger and more complex developments, where we may use Enquiry by Design or other collaborative design approaches. We regularly produce Statements of Community Involvement (SCIs), which detail how the design of a site has evolved to meet technical and third party views.
We have a comprehensive strategy in place to respond to the requirements of the Localism Bill. Please see our 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report for more detail.
Suppliers, sub-contractors and other business partners
We aim to treat our suppliers and sub-contractors fairly and with respect. We vet suppliers prior to working with them to ensure that they meet our requirements for environmental impact, health and safety, quality and financial stability.
We engage regularly with our suppliers. In addition to our on-line vetting system, SOLVE, we have quarterly meetings with all group suppliers in the UK. These meetings cover a wide range of topics, including health, safety and environmental issues.
We also work closely with a range of suppliers to meet sustainability requirements, such as commitments under the Code for Sustainable Homes.
We consult with the UK Government on upcoming legislation, both directly and as a member of industry groups, to highlight potential issues. Members of our senior management team regularly engage with Number 10 Downing Street, CLG (Communities and Local Government), HCA (Homes and Communities Agency), Treasury and other Government departments. We also engage with government agencies such as the Environment Agency and the Highways Agency, including responding to consultation exercises either directly or in conjunction with the HBF. Overall, we maintain a steady dialogue in terms of emerging legislation, policy changes and other relevant areas including sustainability issues.
At a regional and local level, teams from our regional businesses work closely with government representatives with regard to our developments.
Despite the decline in our land purchasing during the economic downturn, we continued to stay in touch with landowners and land agents throughout that time. We have kept them informed about the company’s position in terms of land buying and have maintained a continual discussion. We are now re-engaging in a more significant way once again.
Taylor Wimpey has always had a very controlled land buying process and, as part of this, we have a proactive approach to engagement with landowners and land agents.
We engage proactively with planners and regulators, seeking to understand their viewpoint and to communicate about our own perspective.
Taylor Wimpey is a responsible developer. We follow through the planning process properly and have trained planners within our business units to ensure that the planning process is undertaken effectively and professionally. Wherever possible, we engage with planners through pre-application consultation. We maintain very strict standards of professional conduct with regard to all contact with planners.
We engage regularly with regulators and also provide input in consultation exercises.
Taylor Wimpey works closely with housing associations and other affordable housing providers such as registered social landlords (RSL). We work closely with RSLs to ensure that affordable housing is integrated effectively into our developments. Taylor Wimpey team members also attend national and regional conferences and events on housing issues, for example those organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing.
We also supported Government initiatives - such as the now closed HomeBuy Direct and the First Time Buyers’ Initiative - that made housing affordable for groups such as first time buyers.
Trade Associations and industry bodies
We work extremely closely with the HBF at all levels and have representatives on a wide range of committee and sub-groups. We also engage closely with the NHBC, both at a senior and a regional business level.
We work with trade associations on particular initiatives and also work with organisations such as WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), for example in waste reduction in the UK and at our Raploch development in Stirling, Scotland.
We work with charities and non-governmental organisations at particular developments. For example, we have worked extensively with the National Trust at our Stamford Brook in Atrincham. We also work with other organisations, for example working with Leeds Metropolitan University on a major research project at Stamford Brook.
We value feedback from individuals and organisations interested in sustainability and corporate responsibility.