Green Zone:

Sustainability for hire

Nigel Strickland suggests that if hirers carefully analyse every aspect of their businesses from a green perspective, the benefits can be substantial.

The construction industry is responding to the challenge of meeting more stringent sustainability targets, by adopting emerging technologies and embracing new working practices. Hirers will have to respond to the new demands of its primary customer base and modify its own working practices accordingly - something that, traditionally, our industry is extremely good at. However, to fully grasp the opportunities, hire companies must do more than just react to their customers.
By examining every aspect of its business, from its premises to the processes it uses, from the transport and logistics it operates, to the people and equipment it works with, any size of hire business can create real commercial advantages, better working and living environments and an enhanced public profile.

It is perhaps worth noting what a green industry hire already is. Hiring allows for the shared use of resources, rather than everyone owning identical pieces of kit. If hire companies and their fleets did not exist, then far greater levels of equipment ownership would need to exist across the whole construction industry, with greater waste of finite resources and increased carbon emissions. While hiring might lead to a condensed lifespan for individual tools and items of equipment, the upshot is a continuous investment in products and a corresponding inward flow of innovative and carbon-efficient products.

Energy efficient buildings

Returning to the issue of enhancing corporate sustainability, April 2009 will see the introduction of the industrial equivalent of Home Information Packs (HIPs), making it a legal requirement to certify the energy efficiency of all commercial buildings, starting with structures of 10,000m2 or more. By 1 July next year, all commercial buildings of more than 2,500m2 will have to provide these Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), followed in October by the extension of this requirement to all remaining buildings.

EPCs will ultimately be required whenever a building is constructed, rented out or sold, and will be based on the efficiency of lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, as well as water usage.
They will obviously not affect everyone immediately, but the process of getting your own house in order and reducing your carbon footprint can be started by visiting the Envirowise website at www.envirowise.gov.uk/indicator. Opportunities for hire companies to introduce new technology such as thermal-imaging cameras into their survey equipment fleets will grow as customers look to identify building heat losses and other energy efficiency issues.

The cost of transport

Given the cost of running delivery vehicle fleet, it is, in practice, impossible to have ‘free’ deliveries and collection. Someone, somewhere has to pay the price of transportation and the carbon emissions produced. EHN will examine this major topic more closely in the months ahead. However, analysing the equipment you deliver, and your vehicles, could lead to a reappraisal of your transport fleet. Hybrid commercial vehicles, and electric and hydrogen technology based transportation, are at last offering viable alternatives, certainly for urban areas. Last year saw Speedy Hire and A-Plant using electric hire delivery vehicles in London, for example.

Creating a planned delivery schedule, rather than having a wholly reactive one, may challenge some customer attitudes and expectations, but the rewards could be substantial. Regular communication with clients to understand their work schedules can allow better planning and reduce the likelihood of being expected to achieve the impossible.

Responding to the dual needs of the construction industry to reduce Landfill Tax charges and recycle materials, more hire companies are successfully pioneering the hire of compact crushers. Next year’s
25% increase in the Aggregates Levy on quarried materials will further bring into focus the benefits of on-site recycling. And as a further portent of things to come, a south of England borough council recently stipulated in a tender document for repairs to footpaths, that contractors awarded the contract would be expected to use hand-fed mini crushers and to recycle rubble on site, rather than carting away the waste. National Government directives and targets will drive other local authorities to implement similar policies.

In the temporary lighting market, the need for improved sustainability is driving important technological developments such as temporary traffic lights and site lighting incorporating solar panels to power the equipment. Such machines will have considerable appeal to contractors, especially those operating in noise and emission sensitive areas. Some lighting systems are also using LED lamps, which consume less energy than conventional bulbs and have a longer life, again reducing their carbon footprint.

Manufacturers of petrol driven cut-off saws are all keen to stress the reduction in hydrocarbon emissions that can be gained by using their respective products.
This at first may seem of little consequence to a hire company when selecting which product to buy, but remember, the low emission qualities of your hire fleet will be an increasingly important factor to state when bidding for work with utilities, local authorities and other organisations. Indeed, clear evidence of sustainability in your purchasing policy might make the difference between winning and
losing business.

Recently, a mixed picture regarding the benefits of bio-fuels has begun to emerge, with the suggestion from some quarters that the drive for crops like corn or soy to be used for fuel may push prices up and affect food supplies for less prosperous nations. Setting aside these arguments, it appears that the use of bio-fuel generators brings significant advantages through the lack of impact on the environment in the event of a fuel spillage. An increasing range of bio-fuel generators are now available to hire, ranging from 8kW single-phase units up to 400kW three-phase machines for stand-alone or backup power. Companies engaged in supplying water companies and customers working in environmentally sensitive areas will undoubtedly add a strong selling point by offering such equipment.

Developments are also taking place amongst some manufacturers of diesel engines that could see the wider use of bio-fuel mixes. In November 2006, Kubota Tractors announced a global decision to approve the use of ‘B5’ bio-diesel fuels (consisting of 5% bio-diesel and 95% petroleum diesel) in specified Kubota diesel products as an alternative energy source. Small diesel engines are prevalent in the grounds care industry and, as environmentally conscious local authorities represent its prime customer base, we can surely expect other engine manufacturers to follow suit.

Finally, we must consider arguably the most important element of a successful hire business - its staff. A core concept should be the training of personnel in green issues, and web sites such as Envirowise’s give every company the opportunity to access a huge range of support services and information. The most progressive companies in the UK are all extremely active in embracing change and developing sustainability strategies, not just because they can afford to take the moral high ground, but also because it makes sound business sense. As Sir Richard Branson commented recently, “the only businesses around in 20 years’ time will be green and sustainable businesses”. •

Executive Hire News › Archives › April 2008 › Green Zone › Sustainability for hire

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