The firm’s annual sustainable development report shows the contractor diverted 91% of all site waste from landfill saving £2.3m in disposal costs last year.

Site improvements saw 8% less waste generated per £100,000 of construction spend as £5m was invested training staff in sustainable initiatives.

Group chief executive Rick Willmott said: “We made some excellent progress against our sustainable development targets, but also faced considerable challenges.

“Diverting 91% of site waste from landfill is tremendous progress when you consider three years ago that figure stood at 60%.

“We aim to reach 100%, although we have to take into account the closer we get, the harder that last element becomes as there are certain items that can only be sent to landfill.”

The only disappointing element was a rise in the firm’s carbon footprint as more heavy plant was used.

Willmott said: “We cannot ignore that 2010 saw an increase both in our carbon footprint and in our annual energy bill.

“This was predominantly down to utilising heavier mechanical equipment, the rise in energy costs and the improvement in how we capture and measure fossil fuel use.

“New efficiency measures we are rolling out in 2011 will help mitigate against these rises and we remain absolutely determined to be a carbon neutral business.”