Building for a better future

Creating sustainable communities and thriving environments

At Freeman Homes, we plan, design and build homes with you in mind. Our commitment to the environment, to sustainability, and to being a business with purpose, is built into the very fabric of who we are and what we do. Our mission is clear: “building for a better future” driving us to consider our legacy and how we can create a positive impact for all, through our 5 company pillars:

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Putting you first, while supporting our planet

Developing beautiful homes, in beautiful locations, we bring you low-carbon living in thriving communities. Our goal is to build you a house that you love, that saves you money, while boosting the natural environment too.

According to the “Watt a Save” report from the Home Builders Federation (HBF), buyers of a new build house (average B-Grade EPC) will save £3,100 per year in energy bills from April 2023. These standards help to save you money, as well as reducing your carbon footprint, something we are extremely proud of. What’s more, we work to put back more than we take out, focussing on biodiversity planting and wildlife planning to enhance the natural environment in which you live.

As a business, we have both a Sustainability Framework, setting out our approach as a business, and an Environmental Impact Reduction Programme, designed to specifically focus on carbon reduction. We employ a cycle of continuous improvement, ensuring we are always moving forward and doing better.

Meeting independent international standards

Supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

As part of our sustainability agenda, we have aligned our business with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which we use to underpin the design and delivery of our developments. We have identified seven goals as being the most relevant to our business, and where we can make the greatest impact. We are focused on:

Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and well-being
Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and communities
Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on land

This drives who we are, the way we build, and the services we provide.

Our properties, your home

From start to finish, we’re focussed on homes that are energy-efficient, and have responsible consumption and production approaches.

Top quality design and build

A "fabric-first" approach to design to maximise energy performance of the property, while reducing carbon emissions through the embodied carbon of materials
water reduction and energy efficiency features
The Freeman Choice actively promoting a selection of eco-friendly appliances and technologies
The option of a water butt and garden composting bin
Incorporated home working options to provide working-from-home comfort with less commuting

Timber frame construction

Heightened thermal efficiencies and reduced maintenance compared to traditional building methods
The lowest CO2 cost of any commercially available building materials
materials from managed forests that are replaced and restored.

Our places, your community

Buying your next home is not just about the property you’re viewing, but the community it is placed in. We seek to create thriving communities that support life on land.

Biodiversity and nature

We actively embed biodiversity and environmental best practice into all our developments, to create sustainable communities for people and nature. This includes:

Green open spaces
Space for nature in our common areas, including tree and wildflower planting, wetland development, wildlife corridors, nesting boxes and hedgehog friendly boundaries
Biodiversity landscaping with plants selected for their beauty, and benefits to local wildlife
Effective and sustainable drainage systems and detailed flood risk assessments, to prevent disruption of natural water courses
Consult with wildlife organisations to improve local ecology and wetland design.

Community engagement

We want to support thriving local communities, enhancing those that are already established, as well as those that we help to create. We do this through:

Local charitable support, boosting charities that specifically serve the local community
Resource distribution, by seeking local opportunities to reuse any surplus materials such as timber, paint, clothing etc.
Creating local wildlife and ecology education areas wherever possible
Seeking to deliver Good Dividends on every project that we undertake.

Our service, your experience

We know that the culture we foster as a business, ultimately translates to the experience you receive as a customer. Our customer charter and training support our team to support you, while delivering good health and wellbeing.

Customer first culture

We’ve started with our on-site culture, developing a customer charter and training that puts you first. This specifically supports us to promote awareness of our customers, and provide excellent customer service at every touchpoint. We have also:

Embraced changes to how we engage with our customers, to limit the environmental impact. This includes promoting digital tools, including our onsite touchscreen units.
Removed most single use plastics in our marketing merchandise, with a view to removing them all.

Our people, your team

Our team are ultimately the people that make our sustainable ambitions happen, which is why we foster a vibrant team culture that provides a safe and healthy environment. We do this through good governance, to support good health and wellbeing for our people.

Health, safety & wellbeing

We go beyond mandatory health and safety standards to create a wellbeing culture that supports our people as individuals. We do this through:

Promoting health, safety and wellbeing awareness via our company Wellness Charter
Providing annual occupational health checks for all staff
Providing private health insurance
Working with COVAL Health & Safety services to carry out monthly site-based audits
Becoming members of the Lighthouse Club, a construction industry charity that provides proactive resources and support to our team.

People & partners

We want to be the best for the people that we employ, which is why we have a Company Charter which enshrines our promise that all colleagues are valued, treated with respect and supported. We also:

Conduct an annual Employee Engagement Survey to measure employee satisfaction, communicating the results and action plan via our Book of Culture and Values
Promote and champion our 7 company values through workshops, value-based reviews, and reporting
Attract and retain talent to work with us and ensuring all new employees complete an induction programme specifically designed to help and support them in getting the right start and a positive future.

Our business, your partner

How we build our properties and what we do as a business ultimately has the most significant impact on our environmental goals. That’s why we’ve aligned our business to provide affordable and clean energy and ensure responsible consumption and production.

Environmental Impact Reduction Programme: our focus on carbon reduction

In addition to our company wide Sustainability Framework, we have a dedicated Environmental Impact Reduction Programme. It sets out and measures our environmental responsibilities and ensures our ambitions and goals are translated into effective action. It incorporates 15 dedicated aspects that underpin our operations end to end. Through this, we are:

Building considerately

Ecological Assessment Reports to ensure ecological protection is integrated into our Construction Environmental Management Plans
Registering all sites with the Considerate Constructors Scheme, abiding with their code that’s designed to go beyond statutory requirements
Segregation of waste materials onsite to maximise recycling.

Operating effectively in our offices

Utilising digital tools to minimise business travel for meetings
Daytime temperatures set with night-time setbacks
Automatic light sensors in all common areas and corridors
Waste segregation and double-sided printing policy, combined with a print reduction policy