People

Our People commitments focus on creating a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for our employees while developing skills and creating opportunities within the communities where we operate.

Health and safety

Safety remains fundamental to our operations and our commitment to Zero Harm. During FY2025/26, we completed 16,778 health and safety training hours and 958 health and safety inspections, achieving an average compliance score of 96.16%.

We also launched our Life Saving Rules and a Safety First Pledge, reinforcing clear expectations around high-risk activities and encouraging proactive reporting of accidents, incidents and hazards.

Diversity, equality and inclusion

We are committed to creating an environment where people feel valued, respected and able to contribute. During the year, employees completed 613 Equality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training courses, with 39 ethnicities represented across Axis CLC.

Our Learning at Work Week programme also supported 122 employees to complete dementia awareness training, helping our teams provide safe, respectful and accessible services to vulnerable residents.

Employee wellbeing

Supporting employee wellbeing remains a key part of our People strategy. During the year, we had 38 trained Mental Health First Aiders and 228 employees completed first aid training.

Our annual employee engagement survey received 732 responses and recorded an 88% engagement score. Feedback has informed our You Said, We Did action plan, with priorities including communication, recognition, management capability, pay and reward and wellbeing support.

Social mobility and employability

We welcomed 55 new apprentices during the year, with 55% entering trade roles. We also provided 35 work placements, with 15 participants subsequently offered apprenticeships or full time roles.

Our employability programme delivered 50 careers and employability events, supporting 1,626 students across 20 schools and colleges through our partnership with the School Outreach Company.

Communities and value creation

Our people continued to make a difference in the communities where we operate. Employees contributed 3,557 volunteering hours across 138 local causes, supported by our commitment to provide every employee with one paid volunteering day each year.

Alongside volunteering, we provided more than £372,000 in funding and in-kind donations to community initiatives, with the Axis Foundation providing a further £200,000 plus in grants to local organisations.

Planet

Our Planet commitments focus on reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency and using resources responsibly.

Carbon and emissions

We are working towards Net Zero across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2045, supported by a target to reduce operational emissions by 43% by 2030.

During the year, we continued work to improve operational efficiency and reduce emissions, while developing plans to modernise our fleet. Our target is for 30% of our light commercial vehicle fleet to be battery electric by the end of 2030.

Energy consumption

Energy efficiency remains an important part of our environmental strategy. We achieved a 5.3% reduction in energy intensity per employee during FY2025/26, alongside a 41.5% reduction in gas consumption.

At our Stratford division, improvements to the Building Management System reduced out of hours energy consumption by 36%, while overall energy consumption reduced by approximately 77% year on year.

Waste and recycling

We diverted 98% of waste from landfill during the year, supported by collaboration with our supply chain and waste management partners.

Our environmental volunteering also contributed to cleaner communities. Through Great British Spring Clean activities and other initiatives, employees helped collect 17.2 tonnes of waste across client communities.

Trust

Our Trust commitments focus on responsible business practices, strong governance, data protection and effective supply chain management.

Governance

The Axis CLC Board holds ultimate responsibility for ESG performance and risk management, supported by the Executive Committee and ESG Committee.

During the year, we completed 28 ISO 9001:2015 audits across the group, with no major nonconformances identified. We also continued to develop our governance systems and reporting capabilities as part of our wider transformation programme.

Data privacy and cyber security

Protecting our data, systems and clients remains a key priority. During FY2025/26, we recorded no major data breaches and successfully detected and contained eight cyber attacks.

Our Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation further demonstrates our commitment to protecting the business against online threats.

Supply chain governance

Responsible procurement and supply chain governance are an important part of our ESG approach. During the year, we completed 1,633 supplier due diligence checks and onboarded 1,512 supply chain partners through Local Supply Chain.

We also ensure that 100% of Axis CLC subcontractors and supply chain partners are enrolled in the Supply Chain Sustainability School within three months of joining.

Looking ahead

The publication of this report provides a baseline from which we can measure future progress.

Our priorities for 2026/27 include increasing employee engagement, expanding apprenticeship opportunities, maintaining our focus on safety, increasing volunteering participation, growing social value delivery and continuing to reduce emissions and waste.

We will also strengthen fleet electrification, supply chain engagement, responsible procurement, cyber security and ESG reporting.

As Richard Morris notes in the report, “establishing a baseline is only the beginning.”

The next stage is about using better information to drive sustained improvement and continuing to work with our people, clients, partners and communities to create positive impact.

Read the full report