Home / Sustainability & social value
Local people on every job, apprentices every year, money spent in the region, and a firm grip on waste and mileage. Here is what that means in practice.
Every pound you spend with ATKINSONS works twice. It gets your job done properly, and it pays the wages of people who live, shop and bring up families in the North East.
We are a local firm with every trade on our own books, so we can tell you exactly who is on your job and where they come from. No agency labour, no subcontracting the job out to whoever is cheapest.
Most building firms win the work, then hand it to whoever is free. We don't. Every trade on your job works for ATKINSONS, on our payroll, in our kit and in our vans.
That matters for social value. The wages from your project are paid to people who live in DH, SR and NE postcodes and spend them here. Nobody is on a zero-hours agency deal, everyone is paid at least the National Living Wage, and we carry out right-to-work checks on everyone we employ.
The North East needs more qualified tradespeople, not fewer. We take on apprentices from the region every year and train them on real jobs, alongside qualified electricians, engineers, joiners and builders.
The aim is simple. An apprentice who starts with us should end up a qualified trade, then running jobs, then training the next lot. That keeps skills, and the jobs that come with them, in the region.
Supporting them for 5+ years
Back on the Map is working to make Hendon a place of opportunity to live, work and thrive. We've stood behind them for over five years, with our trades, our time and our money.
Front of the shirt, season after season.
Kit, boots and moral support every weekend.
Careful, cost-conscious work for care homes, charities and community buildings.
Building creates waste and vans burn fuel. We can't pretend otherwise, so we work to keep both down, and we follow a written environmental policy signed off by our Managing Director.
The biggest carbon saving most households can make is in how they heat and power the house. Because every trade is in-house, we can fit the heat pump, the solar, the wiring and the charger as one job, with one set of certificates.
Swap gas for a heat pump, with help applying for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.
Find out more →Generate your own electricity and cut what you buy from the grid.
Find out more →Home and workplace charge points, fitted and certified by our electricians.
Find out more →A modern condensing boiler and proper controls use less gas than an old one.
Find out more →The people on your job work for ATKINSONS. One firm accountable for the lot.
A named Contracts Manager from first visit to final certificate.
A real person answers in office hours, with an emergency line out of hours. Engineers dispatched, not job numbers logged.
In writing, in plain English. No surprises in the small print.
Tell us the work, the property, your timescale and budget through our quick form, and upload any plans or photos. Everything in one place from the start.
We review what you've sent and decide the best next step, whether that's pricing straight away or sorting drawings, planning or building control first.
Where it's needed, we come and look properly: access, structure, levels and anything affecting the cost. Your chance to ask questions before we quote.
A clear, transparent quote setting out what's included, assumed and excluded, with a payment structure. Confidence in what you're accepting, not a one-line price.
Once you're happy, we sort dates, materials, access and building control before anyone lifts a tool, so the job runs smoothly on site.
Our team arrives clear on the agreed scope, keeps the site tidy, communicates as we go and respects your home throughout.
Our social value statement and the environmental, modern slavery and equal opportunities policies behind this page. All documents →
No. Every trade on your job is employed directly by ATKINSONS. That is how we can stand behind the work, and why the wages from your project stay in the region.
Yes, every year, from across the North East. They train on our own jobs alongside qualified tradespeople.
It is separated and recycled where practical, including metals, timber, cardboard, plasterboard and rubble, and removed by licensed waste carriers with transfer notes kept. Hazardous waste such as asbestos is handled only by competent people.
Yes. Talk to us early and we will set out commitments for your contract, such as local labour, apprenticeship places, community support and waste records, and agree how they are reported.
Yes. We fit heat pumps, solar panels, EV chargers and efficient boilers and heating controls, all with our own trades, so one firm handles the whole job and the certificates.
Fill this in and one of the team rings you back, usually within one working day. Prefer to talk now? Call 0191 369 2405. Office hours Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm, Sat 9am to 1pm.
Whatever the brief, the route in is the same: ring us, we'll visit, we'll come back with a fixed price in plain English. Free site visits across the whole North East.
Or email enquiries@atkinsonsgroup.co.uk
No call-out charge for quotes. Fixed prices, in writing.
For councils, housing associations and businesses.
Public sector contracts now give real weight to social value, and more private clients ask about it too. Because our trades are directly employed and based in the region, much of what buyers look for is already how we work.
On your tender or framework, we can set out commitments and agree how they will be reported for your contract. Talk to us early and we'll build them into the price, not bolt them on afterwards.
Social value & statement PDF