Green construction supply chains will be vital if nations are to hit carbon neutral goals by 2050, yet challenges remain around cost and training… For businesses large and small, the COP26 climate summit brought into sharp focus just how important it is that they stay on track with net zero
Lighting technology upgrade across eight van and truck retail showrooms, using a variety of the latest LED solutions. Operational costs reduced by more than £95,000 over 12 months Carbon reduction of 980 tonnes over the term of the contract Significant positive impact on employee wellbeing Eight commercial retail sites operated
Whole Life Carbon Roadmap from the UK Green Building Council highlights the growing need to quickly close the policy gap on net zero homes and embodied carbon Only with urgent measures and intervention can the UK deliver on its interim target to cut 78% of emissions by 2035, an essential
As understanding of the climate crisis increases and the harm to ourselves, the environment, business, industry and the economy that will follow, so a desire to not only reduce carbon but to be seen reducing carbon increases. Two seemingly interchangeable terms often seen are ‘Carbon Neutral’ and ‘Net Zero Carbon’.
90 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions targeted by 2030 42 per cent reduction for Scope 3 targeted by 2030 Kingspan Group, the global leader in building envelope solutions, today announces ambitious new targets for reducing its Scope, 1,2 and 3 GHG emissions. In 2018, Kingspan signed
A new Net Zero guide targeted at SMEs working in the built environment has been jointly released by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) and sister organisation, the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC). Aimed at small and medium sized members of both of these business associations, the guide highlights the
As a part of our ongoing commitment to reduce emissions across our businesses and to be at the forefront of the energy transition in our sector, the Sureserve Group are pleased to announce that our first batch of fully electric commercial vehicles will be on the roads in June. The investment
The UK became the first major economy in the world to pass into law that it will bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Quickly following suit, we have seen many developers, contractors, engineers, and local authorities all pledging their commitment to ‘Net Zero’ with targets ranging
Green construction supply chains will be vital if nations are to hit carbon neutral goals by 2050, yet challenges remain around cost and training… For businesses large and small, the COP26 climate summit brought into sharp focus just how important it is that they stay on track with net zero deadlines. The British government was one of the first to enshrine in law its commitment to be net zero as a nation by 2050. The clock is ticking ever louder. Construction giant Balfour Beatty says the UK’s building and infrastructure sector supply chain will have a vital role in helping the country meet its net zero commitments. It says the supply chain is responsible for 80% of the sector’s emissions. Balfour Beatty is at the forefront of efforts to make sure construction supply chains are as green as can be. Recently it published a paper, called ‘Greening the Chain’. For this, the company surveyed around 40,000 UK construction and infrastructure industry suppliers, in a bid to understand the barriers, issues and opportunities around sustainability faced by the sector. It was a joint effort with the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS). Sustainability a struggle for smaller construction firms One of the strongest messages to come out of ‘Greening the Chain’ was just how difficult it is for smaller businesses to make progress on sustainability, because they lack the resources and expertise of larger companies. “It’s more challenging for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to meet new sustainability requirements, such as supplying carbon data,” confirms Katherine Rusack, senior sustainable procurement manager at Balfour Beatty. She continued: “Last year we spent £1.28bn with SME suppliers. They are a key part of our supply chain. For us to achieve our sustainability goals, we need to support them in a way that’s relevant to their business and operations.” To this end, the company has partnered with the SCSS, who provide materials and training free to Balfour Beatty supply chain members. “It’s a collaborative initiative,” Rusack says. “Many customers, such as National Highways, and larger supply chain partners, also support the school. This is a great example of the construction industry coming together to support the upskilling of the supply chain of all sizes.” SME businesses need all the help they can get on sustainability training, agrees Megan Adlen, group sustainability director at Travis Perkins. She says: “Smaller companies have smaller teams. Unlike larger suppliers, like us, or larger manufacturers, they won’t necessarily have in-house teams who understand sustainability, who can calculate carbon, or who understand net zero and the key interventions needed to achieve it”. Supplier forum will share sustainability best practices She adds: “This is why we’re looking to bring them together in a supplier forum, starting next year. The aim is to share best practises across the supply chain, and hopefully inspire some of the smaller manufacturers around measures they can take to decarbonise their operations and supply team.” Adlen says a great starting point for smaller companies struggling with sustainability is to use the free SCSS carbon calculator tool. “It’s no good talking theoretically to smaller companies about what needs to be done if they have no understanding of exactly what it is they’re supposed to be measuring and managing. It’s that old adage: if you want it to count, count it.” To that end, she says, the SCSS tool is a good first step to supporting smaller companies’ carbon calculations. In ‘Greening the Chain’ Balfour Beatty says one barrier to companies in the building supply chain moving to net zero is the skills gap, and a lack of training to plug that gap. Balfour Beatty’s Rusack says design is one of the areas in which sustainability training is important. “Equipping the design community with information about more sustainable products and methods can and should be implemented where possible,” Rusack says. Balfour Beatty developing carbon conscious training She adds that Balfour Beatty is also developing carbon-conscious training to help its workforce understand the carbon costs of their behaviour, both for them as individuals and Balfour Beatty as an employer. Yet she also sounds a note of caution, warning that businesses need to be careful not to go over the top: “Not everyone needs to be a sustainability expert. The challenge is to provide training which is relevant and proportionate to an individual’s role.” There’s no doubt that some of the net-zero training that’s required in the building supply chain is onerous. Adlen offers the example of the switch from gas boilers to heat-exchange systems: “Adapting to new technologies such as heat-pumps means tradespeople skilled in traditional boilers will either need to upskill, or an entirely new trade will be needed to support the installation of these new solutions. What will probably happen is that it’ll be a blend of the two.” Adlen adds that the pace of change across the built environment means upskilling is absolutely vital. She says the construction sector has already approached the government for help on this front, but anticipates that much of the upskilling provision is likely to fall to the supply chain itself. “A number of different upskilling solutions are likely to evolve,” she says. “Certainly in Travis Perkins we’re looking at how we might be able to play our part in supporting the upskilling of the trade in some of these areas.” She explains the company is exploring options on this front. Whichever route Travis Perkins ends up taking, there will be plenty of training to provide. “I gave the example of upskilling around heat pumps but that’s just one example among many, many others.” Procurement sustainability training ‘vitally important’ Asked what the most important steps Balfour Beatty has taken to green its own chain, Rusack says that providing its procurement team with training on sustainable procurement is right up there. She said: “We’ve reviewed all the products and services we regularly use and have conducted a heat-mapping exercise against 13 key sustainability areas, including social, environmental and economic impacts.” On the back of this,
Lighting technology upgrade across eight van and truck retail showrooms, using a variety of the latest LED solutions. Operational costs reduced by more than £95,000 over 12 months Carbon reduction of 980 tonnes over the term of the contract Significant positive impact on employee wellbeing Eight commercial retail sites operated by UK Mercedes-Benz dealership Rygor have been equipped with the latest LED lighting systems courtesy of a comprehensive upgrade initiative implemented by Journey Energy Solutions (Journey). Established to help organisations get closer to Net Zero emissions without the burden of up-front capital outlay, Journey designs, installs and maintains carefully tailored, energy-efficient LED lighting systems. The starting point for the recent project was the realisation by the auto dealership that the existing lighting needed to be upgraded in order to reduce operational costs and carbon emissions. The lighting at three sites in particular – Heathrow, Swindon and Westbury – was also increasingly unfit for purpose and subject to frequent costly replacements. But during the course of conversations with the specialist energy solutions company that provided the upgrade, the scope of the scheme was expanded to include eight van and truck retail showrooms: the three aforementioned sites as well as Chilcompton, Kidderminster, Newbury, Nuneaton and Oxford. In terms of choosing a partner to implement the lighting upgrade and provide support post-installation, there were multiple key factors that worked in the favour of Journey. These included the ability to start work immediately, maintain a seamless transition between each site, and work in such a way that any operational disruption was kept to a minimum. For example, to avoid negative impact during installation in the active workshop service areas, advanced notice was given to each service manager so they could schedule work on particular days – ensuring that any possible conflicts were avoided. The outcomes The upgrade programme took three months with each of Rygor’s sites now featuring a complementary blend of the latest LED lighting products. As well as carrying out all the design and installation work, Journey has also been contracted for six years to provide ongoing service and maintenance support – giving further reassurance to the Rygor team and allowing the dealer’s internal technical resources to be directed elsewhere. Whilst the figure could rise further due to a greatly reduced need for replacements and associated maintenance, it is already predicted that Rygor will benefit from an impressive reduction in its carbon emissions of 980 tonnes and an energy cost saving of £648,514 over the term of the contract. This would be a huge step forward for any business at any time, but in the midst of an unpredictable economic cycle and with climate change concerns escalating, it has a truly transformative potential. In addition to the energy savings, the improved quality of the lighting – especially in the most badly affected areas at the sites deemed most urgently in need of an upgrade – has been widely commented upon by employees and visitors. In particular, feedback from personnel who have been employed in the company’s workshops for many years has been very strong, with many pinpointing the much more sympathetic and consistent nature of the lighting. The testimonials In reflecting on the project, Rygor praises the “excellent” nature of the Journey installation teams and the entire experience of collaborating with the company before, during and after the upgrade. Stuart Gemmell, Rygor Group Facilities and Health & Safety Manager, commented: “Our ageing lighting systems didn’t provide the quality of lighting that we required, in particular our workshops were quite gloomy,” he says. “The upgrades have transformed our working environments, making it easier for staff to operate efficiently. The staff are certainly benefiting and the feedback they have provided us with has been extremely positive.” The operational and carbon savings being achieved by the project have impressed the Rygor team on their journey to Net Zero. He added: “It almost goes without saying that we are also delighted with the massive contribution that the new lighting will make to our carbon emissions reduction strategy. In fact, it’s going to be a major milestone on our way to becoming a Net Zero business.” The on-going support offered by Journey will also be beneficial to the business. He finished: “The other really positive aspect is that the partnership is very much ongoing because Journey will be providing long-term support and maintenance. And of course, that means valuable extra peace of mind as we move forward.” To help motor dealers on the path to energy savings and carbon reduction, Journey has launched a free, downloadable guide – ‘The Journey to Net Zero – How to cut costs, save energy and deliver decarbonisation: a guide for motor dealers’. To download the free guide, click here.
Whole Life Carbon Roadmap from the UK Green Building Council highlights the growing need to quickly close the policy gap on net zero homes and embodied carbon Only with urgent measures and intervention can the UK deliver on its interim target to cut 78% of emissions by 2035, an essential milestone in the nation’s transition to Net Zero by 2050 With homes responsible for 16% of total UK carbon emissions, Government must immediately bring forward a national retrofit programme to unlock significant carbon savings, as well as deliver high-quality and cheaper to heat homes for people The Roadmap is the first quantification of the carbon reductions required each year from buildings and infrastructure if the UK is to be net zero by 2050 A transformative shift in industry practices is required and so action plans are provided for 14 key stakeholder groups As global leaders convene at COP26 to discuss the role of the built environment in addressing climate change, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched a Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap for the UK Built Environment (The Roadmap) detailing the necessary actions government and industry must take to achieve net zero across the sector. The built environment is directly responsible for 25% of the total UK carbon footprint, and therefore has a critical role to play in the national transition to Net Zero. Co-created by industry with over 100 organisations contributing, the Roadmap provides a shared vision and set of actions for achieving a net zero UK built environment by 2050, in relation to construction, operation and demolition of buildings and infrastructure. The Roadmap quantifies, for the first time, the specific emission reductions across sub-sectors of the built environment that will need to take place year-on-year to meet the 2050 deadline. The analysis includes not only domestic emissions, but emissions related to the consumption of imported construction products and materials. The Roadmap establishes a net zero emissions budget and trajectory to 2050, consistent with wider UK carbon targets and budgets as set-out by the Climate Change Committee (CCC), enabling government and the UK built environment to benchmark progress over the coming years and decades. Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive at UKGBC said: “After all the talk, it’s time for action. The UK Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy is a step in the right direction but fails to address several key priorities that this analysis clearly demonstrates are non-negotiable to achieving a net-zero carbon built environment by 2050. The Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap pulls together disparate strands of recent policy and action into one coherent pathway, with clear recommendations for National Government and Local Authorities, as well as the private sector and the wider industry. We urge policy-makers and industry to embed these recommendations into policies and strategies to make good on the promises and commitments of COP26.” The Roadmap sets out policy recommendations for central and local governments to help drive and enable the transition needed to decarbonise the sector. These go beyond the recently published UK Government Heat & Buildings strategy and cover existing homes, existing non-domestic buildings and new buildings as well as for the infrastructure which connects our buildings and industry. The recommendations include: 1) Nation-wide retrofitting of existing homes. Establish an immediate national programme of “fabric first” home retrofit to make homes efficient, warm, and transition away from fossil fuel heating. Bring forward the cut-off date for the sale of gas and oil boilers to 2030. Reform EPCs and introduce minimum EPC ratings for homes at point of sale by 2028. Remove VAT on energy efficient retrofit building works and introduce variable stamp duty linked to energy performance. Introduce direct government retrofit grants for low-income households. 2) Energy performance disclosure for non-domestic buildings. Introduce mandatory in-use energy disclosure for non-domestic buildings. Accelerate the roll-out of energy performance rating schemes across non-domestic sectors, followed by minimum standards and fiscal incentives. 3) Adoption of a design for performance approach to new buildings. Reform building regulations to introduce Energy Usage Intensity (kWh/m2/yr) targets for new buildings from 2025.Alongside low carbon heating for all new buildings from 2025, introduce space heating demand limits (kWh/m2/yr), measures to limit peak demand, and minimum standards for currently unregulated key appliances. 4) Whole life carbon measurements and agreed limits. Introduce the regulation of embodied carbon for new buildings and major refurbishments Support and invest in industrial decarbonisation of key construction material supply chains Use planning reforms to prioritise reuse of existing buildings and assets 5) National infrastructure investment based on the net emissions impact. Establish a National Infrastructure Integrator with full oversight of carbon impacts Nigel Topping, COP26 High Level Climate Action Champion, commented: “As we start a critical decade for climate action, the United Kingdom can and should take a leadership role. This report epitomises leadership and establishes that the UK built environment has a comprehensive and rigorous plan for abating its emissions across the construction, operation, and demolition of buildings and infrastructure. I invite you all to use this Roadmap for delivering a net zero future.” The Roadmap was co-created by the industry through a project Steering Group and four Task Groups with over 100 organisations contributing. Many of the recommendations align with existing industry initiatives such as Construct Zero from the Construction Leadership Council, and the Construction Industry Council’s Climate Action Plan as well as those contained in the recently published Scottish Government Heat & Buildings strategy. In some cases, the recommendations build on existing Government policy initiatives to facilitate adoption of further proposals and timelines. UKGBC is one of several European GBCs developing national whole life carbon roadmaps under the #BuildingLife project and The Roadmap was made possible thanks to the support of Laudes Foundation and Ikea Foundation. The report is launched today at 11.30 in the UK Government Pavilion in the Blue Zone at COP26. Here is the video to view the launch:
As understanding of the climate crisis increases and the harm to ourselves, the environment, business, industry and the economy that will follow, so a desire to not only reduce carbon but to be seen reducing carbon increases. Two seemingly interchangeable terms often seen are ‘Carbon Neutral’ and ‘Net Zero Carbon’. The two, however, are not the same thing. Carbon neutral refers to a policy of not increasing carbon emissions and of achieving carbon reduction through offsets. While Net zero Carbon means making changes to reduce carbon emissions to the lowest amount – and offsetting as a last resort. The offsetting is used to counteract the essential emissions that remain after all available reduction initiatives have been implemented. In both cases Carbon Offsetting removes CO2 from the environment. For it to count, that removal must be permanent and accredited or licensed. Projects can offer a range of benefits. As well as reducing carbon from the atmosphere, offset projects can be selected to also offer social and community benefits. Projects can range from local planting of trees to the funding of projects that empower families in developing countries to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. Examples include afforestation, reforestation and conservation. Alternative investments can also be made in initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as in cattle feed that reduces the methane output of cows. Other offsetting projects enhance biodiversity, improve soil quality, food production or rainwater absorption. Projects that benefit soil quality are particularly pertinent to global warming and climate change, as soil is a significant store of carbo, holding three times as much carbon as the atmosphere – and the importance of soil quality has often been overlooked. Food production benefits are relevant too given that crop failure is a significant negative impact of climate change, devastating communities and forcing migration. There are carbon offset schemes offered that are sold on an arbitrary average carbon footprint basis, as opposed to a quantified footprint. The risk with these is that they offer the temptation of an easy-to-buy option, which not only does not include any emission reductions they also may fail to meet sufficient offset to address the problem of climate change. These are sold on the basis that a true quantification of your carbon footprint can be expensive, time-consuming and complicated but this need not be the case. Net Zero Carbon Commitments always involve emission reductions. This requires an initial carbon footprint measurement. This is followed by strategic greenhouse gas emission reduction initiatives, the implementation of renewable energy solutions and then carbon offsetting. The right carbon reduction service can offer you all of these. Furthermore, they can support you in your net zero commitment with ongoing monitoring both of the success of the initiatives but also of emerging technologies for further emission reduction opportunities. These could be in the form of technology, or availability of alternative energy – or internal opportunities from changes in processes, or collaborative opportunities with your supply chain. Potential opportunities could arise with local business partners such as neighbouring manufacturing facilities with whom you may be able to trade reused processed heat or reuse or repurpose materials. For example, could your carbon cardboard waste be shredded to become their packaging material or could waste heat from your processes be used for their hot water or offices? This sort of methodical, structured and quantified approach leads to more optimised use of resources, lowers energy bills, reduces waste, reduces reliance on the national grid, delivers true reductions in emissions and so true reduced harm to the environment.
90 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions targeted by 2030 42 per cent reduction for Scope 3 targeted by 2030 Kingspan Group, the global leader in building envelope solutions, today announces ambitious new targets for reducing its Scope, 1,2 and 3 GHG emissions. In 2018, Kingspan signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative[1], a validated emissions reduction framework that has been adopted by over 1000 companies globally. The targets committed the Group to reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 targets by 10 per cent by 2025 versus a 2017 baseline. Over the last three years Kingspan has expanded considerably through acquisition and organic growth. In line with best practice, new targets have been set reflecting the size and scale of the business today. The new targets align with Kingspan’s Planet Passionate programme and reflect the company’s determination to be a global leader in sustainability. The Group has now committed to reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions[2] by 90% by 2030 from a 2020 base year. It has also pledged to reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions[3] by 42% within the same timeframe. The ambitious new targets are in line with the scale of reductions required to keep global warming below 1.5C from pre-industrial levels. As part of its Planet Passionate commitments Kingspan has already pledged to achieve net-zero carbon manufacturing by 2030 through a combination of process improvements, energy productivity and renewable energy use. This is just one of 12 targets that address impacts in four key areas: carbon, water, energy and circularity. “Significantly reducing our carbon impact across our value chain by 2030 is not just business-critical, it’s planet-critical,” said Bianca Wong, Kingspan’s Global Head of Sustainability. “Our revised science-based targets reinforce our commitment to be an industry leader on climate action and will help to drive change throughout the business at the pace required.” [1] The Science Based Targets Initiative is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi call to action is one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. 2 Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization (e.g., emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles). Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. 3 Emissions from purchased goods and services, use of sold products and end-of-life treatment of sold products. The target boundary includes biogenic emissions and removals from bioenergy
A new Net Zero guide targeted at SMEs working in the built environment has been jointly released by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) and sister organisation, the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC). Aimed at small and medium sized members of both of these business associations, the guide highlights the steps that should be taken towards a carbon free future, explores how Net Zero is already influencing client decision making, and outlines how to meet new client expectations while seizing the business opportunities created. The guide also provides a handy reference to previously released publications, reports, pledge schemes and sector plans, directly sign-posting to the most important and relevant sources of information. Commenting on its launch, Dr Sarah Prichard, UK managing director at Buro Happold, and chair of the ACE and EIC Net Zero group, said: “We designed this guide to help SMEs with practical and tangible advice to support them to make the right choices on their Net Zero journey. “While much has been written around national targets and global conferences, the truth is that we will only succeed if we bring small and medium sized business on board. The UK economy is made up of six million SMEs making up 99.9% of the business population. Our guide is the first step towards this in our industries and I’m looking forward to further engaging both membership bases on this fundamental issue in the weeks and months ahead.” Available to download from the ACE website, EIC members will be sent a copy directly. The guide is released during Net Zero Week, a new national awareness campaign which is bringing together nearly 30 business associations and major organisations to explore all things Net Zero. ACE and EIC are founding partners of the week. Matthew Farrow, director of policy at ACE and EIC, added: “We are delighted to share this guide during the inaugural Net Zero Week. “New ways of working will – of course – mean challenges and change over the near term, but it will also create new business opportunities. Our guide aims to help small and medium sized businesses in our sectors be as well-prepared as possible to seize these.”
As a part of our ongoing commitment to reduce emissions across our businesses and to be at the forefront of the energy transition in our sector, the Sureserve Group are pleased to announce that our first batch of fully electric commercial vehicles will be on the roads in June. The investment will start the next stage in our journey towards a greener and more economical fleet, and is one aspect of our planned improvements ahead of the Department for Transport’s ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030. The Sureserve group currently operates 1600 light commercial vehicles and 60 company cars across the UK. Each vehicle is assigned by job role and vehicle requirements and wherever possible we look to use the smallest, most efficient vehicle to carry out the job required. Currently 87% of the vehicles in the Sureserve Group fleet are the most efficient Euro 6 diesel available, with an average CO2 per vehicle of 141gCO2/km (The average CO2 emissions from new vans in 2019 was 158.4 gCO2/km). Dean Williams, Group Fleet Manager said “I’m delighted to be able to confirm the next step in our journey to make our fleet as efficient and sustainable as possible in the years ahead. As a national business we’re mindful of our environmental impact on the communities we work in, and this is one part of our ongoing commitment to carbon reductions and sustainable practises across the Group.”
The UK became the first major economy in the world to pass into law that it will bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Quickly following suit, we have seen many developers, contractors, engineers, and local authorities all pledging their commitment to ‘Net Zero’ with targets ranging from 2030 to 2050. As the transition to a zero-carbon economy accelerates, how will the supply chain from policy makers, to architects to waste management services impact how these targets are met? Use and re-use first If we look at the waste hierarchy, the last line of defence before landfill is to recycle and recover waste. However, this course of action still takes resources, costs, and consumes energy. Businesses need to evolve their thinking and actively reduce the amount of waste going through traditional routes of waste disposal, such as skips, bins and cages, in the first place. There needs to be a shift in focus from recycling to waste prevention – if a waste material isn’t going through existing methods of waste disposal and being reused or repurposed, should it actually be classed as waste at all? Construction companies should be identifying opportunities to reuse items prior to strip out and demolition stage. These items can then be matched with charities, social enterprises or local organisations in need. Also, for any ‘clean’ excess materials, these can be exchanged or bid for by other construction sites. There are tools available such as Project DIVERT and MATExch online platforms that have been established to facilitate this and provide data on the carbon outcomes based on the decisions that are made. Stay local If there is a carbon measure against every project, then ‘off setting’ is simply not the answer. While planting trees is a good thing, it is not the solution. We need a full carbon track and tracing system that is adopted from the outset of a design through to completion. This will make sure all decisions throughout the project are made with the intention to keep carbon to a minimum. An easy example of this is to source local suppliers and local products. For waste items identified as reusable, we can facilitate the diversion of these to the local community such as libraries may need floor tiles, local colleges may need construction sand for building courses, and homeless shelters may need cutlery and white goods. This stops the waste items going through the traditional routes of waste disposal and contributes social value and community legacy in the area. Early intervention is key Architects and design teams will play a huge role in assisting construction contractors address the carbon potential at the design stage. If projected carbon data around waste away services is calculated in the ‘project planning and design’ phase (ideally RIBA Stage 2) of a building refit or refurbishment project, a pre-construction and environmental audit (PCEA) can be implemented to influence the decisions being made by the designers and environmental teams, with actual carbon data to reference. Within that calculation, we must also include the embodied carbon. If materials can be reused, less will be manufactured and this is a huge carbon saving when you see it on paper. With this intelligence, the waste management plan can identify opportunities for: Putting these processes in place will mean there is actually minimal waste going into skips, to Materials Recycling Facilities (MRF’s) or EfW (Energy from Waste) Plants. Construction companies are responsible for the environmental impact of their site, therefore in order to meet standards, gain certification or meet council regulations, they must demonstrate they are making improvements to become more sustainable. However, it is not acceptable for companies to accept on behalf of their clients a blanket 98% recycling rate from the waste supply chain. This is not ‘their waste’ but that of all waste received to one destination. Construction companies can demonstrate, if planned and forecasted correctly, 100% end destination, 100% re-use, and a 100% recycle rate depending on the where the waste/ resource has been sent to. If your waste target for zero carbon is ‘zero waste to landfill’, then it’s already not good enough. We have found that while targets are in place within environmental audits to lower the carbon impact of waste materials, few have the data measurements and importantly the carbon track and trace methods which can help reduce carbon through the project life cycle. The fact that no one collates this data is a problem in itself and one we are currently trying to solve using our carbon track and trace technology. A worrying issue raised by the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) in a survey published last year was that almost half of local authorities in England did not know their carbon footprint, while 47 per cent said they did not have a plan in place for reducing the carbon emissions resulting from their built assets. If you don’t know what your carbon footprint is in the first place, how can you implement dynamic plans to reduce it? This means there must be a huge push towards calculating carbon savings and implementing carbon saving initiatives in the early stages of a project to have any chance of meeting the zero carbon targets set.
