Leading with Purpose: Insights from the 2025 Henry Boot board away day

At Henry Boot, our approach to responsible business is rooted in the belief that commercial success and positive social impact go hand in hand. Our recent group Board away day in London reflected this ethos – bringing our leadership together to explore how our responsible business strategy can create even greater value for the communities we serve as we look to the launch of its next iteration in 2026.

The away day was designed to do more than review the progress we’ve made as a business, it was about deepening our collective understanding of the social, environmental, and economic factors that shape our work. Meeting with a number of our strategic partners, the board were able to get first-hand insights into how we can make sure that our commercial decision-making delivers positive impacts for the communities we operate in and people we work with.

From discussing local community engagement and skills development with Business in the Community to exploring collaborative solutions on homelessness with Crisis, the day provided practical insights into how we can integrate these priorities into every stage of our projects.

Putting purpose into practice

One of the most valuable takeaways from the day was the reminder that meaningful impact doesn’t come from doing everything – it comes from doing the right things, well.

With our corporate purpose front of mind, we reflected on how we can sharpen the focus of our community investment. That means prioritising the causes that most closely connect with the work we do, the places we operate in, and the people we serve.

Homelessness is a good example. As a developer and builder of homes, it’s an issue we have a clear connection to and a responsibility to help address. That thinking has already shaped our national partnership with Crisis, but our away day visit to their HQ in London was a valuable opportunity to step back and ask ourselves what more we can do.

Hearing directly from Crisis' leadership, and from people on the frontline of the homelessness response, helped to give fresh perspective and sharpen the business’ understanding of where our support can make the biggest difference.

A more strategic approach to community impact

The board also spent time with our Community Investment Committee during a working lunch and roundtable hosted by Henry Boot’s insurance partners at Lockton. Throughout the discussion, we explored how we can make our approach to community investment more targeted and better aligned with our commercial aims.

The conversation focused on how we identify key focus areas, ensure our partnerships support the wider goals of the business, and make the most of the resources we have – whether that’s funding, time, or expertise. It reinforced the need to be clear about where we can add the most value, and to invest in causes where we can have a meaningful, long-term impact.

Collaboration at the heart of the Henry Boot way

What came through clearly in every part of the day was the role that collaboration plays in delivering on our ambitions. Whether it was hearing from Business in the Community about the power of local partnerships, or co-hosting an event with Crisis that brought together voices from across the property sector, the message was the same: no one can tackle complex challenges alone.

This belief in working together – across sectors, regions, and with our own people – is central to how we shape and deliver the responsible business strategy. It’s what turns good intentions into action.

To find out more about responsible business strategy, head over to our impact page.