Major Commendations 2011
Presented at The Lincoln Centre, London on 15 June 2011 by Sir Stuart Rose.
British Gypsum (Robertsbridge plant)
Re-use of Landfill Leachate in Product Manufacturing
Sir Stuart Rose (right) presenting the award to Allen Gorringe, Head of Environment.
British Gypsum is the UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of gypsum-based plastering and drylining solutions. With a history of providing innovative, cost-effective and reliable products that meet the demands of the construction industry, the company is renowned for its pioneering work in training, and its forward-thinking strategy on innovation and product development. British Gypsum operates integrated management systems that bring together the ISO 14001 environmental management standard with recognised business management processes such as World Class Manufacturing and New Product Development.
This project used an innovative solution for dealing with leachate - a legacy of landfilling production residues - and, in so doing, reduced waste generation and water usage.
Following a series of successful production trials, increasing volumes of leachate are now used in the manufacturing process as a direct substitute for reservoir water. The scheme included the collection, pumping, storage and mixing of leachate with process water.
The benefits of the project include:
Reducing annual off-site waste disposal by 2,000 tonnes.
Reducing the amount of water abstracted from a nearby drinking water reservoir by 2,000 tonnes per year.
Annualised savings of £118,000 through reduced waste disposal requirements.
Reducing risks associated with traditional methods of dealing with leachate from plasterboard landfill.
Ensuring continued compliance with environmental permits and other regulatory instruments.
Engaging with many levels in the business as well as external parties to provide sustainable solution.
Reducing the amount of water used in the ’water-stressed’ environment of South East England.
Achieving company and group targets for reducing water use.
Winning British Gypsum’s internal 2010 Award for Environmental Excellence (the Emerald Award).
To find out more about this project, please contact:
To see the British Gypsum video click here.
May Gurney Ltd
Avon Water Treatment Works Support Scheme
Sir Stuart Rose (right) presenting the award to Simon Rickarby, Works Manager.
Founded in 1926, May Gurney Ltd employs 5,150 people from 60 offices across the UK. Revenue in 2009/10 was £483.1 million. The company’s core services are highways (as market leader), environmental, facility, utility, rail and waterways. Long-term clients include many UK water companies, county and district councils, London boroughs, Network Rail, British Waterways, Environment Agency, Highways Agency, Ericsson and Orange.
The Avon Water Treatment Works Support Scheme (Phase 1) is a 700 mm diameter, 13 km long treated
water pipeline in South Devon. It guarantees potable water supplies for new heavy industry and proposed new towns in the area. The design of the scheme commenced in 2008. On-site works started in January 2009 and the scheme was completed and in service in January 2010. The overall value was £9.68 million.
From the outset, the ethos of the Site Delivery Team was to question every aspect of the design (and any design changes) to determine if there was a cheaper or more environmentally sound product or methodology that could be employed. This included early contractor involvement to optimise the pipe route while minimising environmental impact, yet maintaining a practicable and buildable solution.
Throughout the scheme, various alternative solutions have been employed and the savings realised by the questioning process has enabled funding to be released to facilitate more environmentally friendly methods of construction.
The scheme’s headline savings were:
1,200 m3 of concrete.
37,000 tonnes of primary aggregate.
36,000 tonnes of material not taken to landfill.
162,000 km lorry movements.
1,015 tonnes of CO2.
About 5 million litres of water.
£1,000,000 (10% scheme value).
May Gurney was the scheme’s principal contractor, with South West Water as client and Hyder Consulting as designer.
To find out more about this project, please contact:
To download the May Gurney presentation click here (4.02mb).
Noble Foods Ltd
‘The Green Scheme’ Incorporating ISO 14001
Sir Stuart Rose (right) presenting the award to Andrew Joret, Group Technical Director.
Noble Foods is a private company that was founded in 1938. Today, it is the UK’s leading supplier of eggs and egg products to retailers and the food industry. It is also involved in animal feed production, poultry processing and the Gu brand of high-quality desserts. The company’s main markets are in the UK, but it does have some international sales, especially via Gu.
In September 2009, Noble Foods introduced the Green Scheme across all divisions to provide a structured approach to support a number of initiatives to reduce the company’s environmental impact. Appointing green champions in all divisions to act as ‘environmental eyes and ears’ was one of the first things the company did to ensure environmental standards were achieved and maintained.
The initial aim of the Green Scheme was to achieve ISO 14001, convert 15 heavy goods vehicles to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and install LED lighting within 12 months.
The company achieved ISO 14001 in a remarkable 11 months, which has led to a reduction in the cost of IPPC permits, LPG trials have demonstrated an 11% saving on diesel consumption and the innovative co-development and subsequent installation of 4,000 LED lamps has reduced electricity use by 144 kWh. In addition, 1,000 tonnes of packaging are now recycled, which saves £48,000 in landfill costs alone.
Because the Green Scheme has been so successful, employee engagement in environmental matters is at an all-time high. This has given the company confidence that it can incorporate further environmental improvements and increase its waste recycling by 50% during 2011 and 80% in 2012.
To find out more about this project, please contact:
To see the Noble Foods video click here.
The Thoughtful Bread Company
Sir Stuart Rose (right) presenting the award to Duncan Glendinning, Founder.
The Thoughtful Bread Company is an award-winning artisan bakery based just outside of Bath in the West Country. Established in 2009, the business is the brainchild of Duncan Glendinning who gave up a lucrative freelance job to set up a food business that would allow him to combine his two passions - great food, and the environment and sustainability. Turning over just over £160,000 last year, the business’s team of six focuses on the production of pedigree breads and other baked goods made using ingredients sourced from award-winning local producers within a 30-mile radius.
Established as the country was being plunged into recession, The Thoughtful Bread Company used thrift and strong environmental practices to give it the edge over its competitors, make substantial savings, and allow it to set up and build a thriving business. This was achieved when many other bakeries were going out of business because they were not able to compete against the supermarkets and large commercial bakeries.
Strong environmental practices have been engrained in the company from day one - from the bartering scheme the company runs at the bread shop (where bread is the currency), which encourages customers to bring in their gluts of home-grown fruit and veg, to the vehicles it runs on biodiesel made locally, in part, from the waste vegetable oil collected from the restaurants it supplies, right through to how the team meticulously weighs out ingredients and monitors waste.
The company’s wholesale operation includes supply to farm shops, delicatessens, and most of the best restaurants and eateries in the area - right up to Michelin-starred establishments.
To find out more about this project, please contact:
duncan@thethoughtfulbreadcompany.com
www.thethoughtfulbreadcompany.com
To see The Thoughtful Bread Company video click here.
EAE
The Electronic Green Leaflet Machine
Sir Stuart Rose (right) presenting the award to Glen Bennett, Managing Director.
EAE is Scotland’s leading arts and tourism leaflet marketing company. It promotes over 800 private and public sector clients through 5,000 display sites. The company was established in 1987 and now has over 40 full-time staff and an annual turnover of £1.4 million.
EAE has adopted an environmental policy, which the staff are fully involved in developing and delivering. The policy sets a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2015. In 2010, as part of this policy, the company introduced Scotland’s first electrically powered leaflet-delivery van, ‘The Electric Green Leaflet Machine’, which replaces a diesel van. The staff road tested a range of electric delivery vans before the company bought the Electric Green Leaflet Machine.
The batteries on the new van are charged with electricity that is generated by EAE’s own, on-site, wind turbine, ‘Windy Boy’. This was installed in 2007 and has reduced the company’s reliance on other, non-sustainable, energy sources by 50%.
The Electric Green Leaflet Machine reduces the company’s annual carbon emissions by over 5 tonnes and complements other carbon reducing initiatives, such as introducing eco-driving training for staff and setting up a Cycle Tidy Team to maintain key display sites in Edinburgh. Many clients have said that EAE’s proactive environmental policies have directly influenced their decisions to work with the company.
The company intends to buy a second electric delivery van in 2011.
To find out more about this project, please contact:
To see the EAE video click here.
Commercial Group
Green Angels
Sir Stuart Rose (right) presenting the award to Simone Hindmarch-Bye, Managing Director.
The Commercial Group was established in 1991 and provides business services to organisations in the private, public and voluntary sectors in the UK and Ireland. It has divisions specialising in office supplies, IT services, interiors, print and recruitment. The company employs 160 people and has a turnover of £29 million. Commercial is the largest, independently owned office services company in the UK.
Commercial’s environmental programme combines innovation with high staff involvement, particularly through its Green Angel scheme, and has achieved reductions in normalised carbon emission of 75% and waste to landfill by 92%, supporting sustained company growth of 67% since 2006.
In addition, the company’s fleet emissions have reduced by 70%, becoming a case study for best practice in logistics across Europe and pioneering sustainable biofuels.
Being environmentally responsible is not just something that Green Angels do at work. Over 40% have joined the company’s Green Ambassadors Scheme, which encourages and supports them to become more environmentally responsible at home and to take their experiences into their local communities.
The Commercial Group has also designed an energy efficient datacentre that reduces energy consumption by 90% and has become the model for others, many of which are implemented by Commercial’s IT services.
Commercial is an open collaborator and has helped other companies with environmental strategy, carbon reduction and staff engagement, as well as bringing new, sustainable products to market.
In the words of Jonathan Porritt "The Commercial Group continues to demonstrate that profitability and business growth can be achieved through environmentally sound practices and procedures. What’s more, the company is open to sharing best practice with like-minded companies. This collective approach to green issues is a perfect example of how to make a difference at every level."
To find out more about this project, please contact:
To see the Commercial Group video click here.
Sweeptech Environmental Services LLP
Wet Waste Recycling
Sir Stuart Rose (right) presenting the award to Martin Smith, Chief Executive.
Sweeptech Environmental Services was founded in 2008 and is a progressive 2011 ‘Innovation and Technology’ award-winning waste management business. It undertakes wastewater and sludge recycling, and is committed to delivering environmental and sustainability improvement in the communities where it works. The business, which has a diverse client base, employs 19 people and has an annual turnover of £1.1 million.
In 2007, the EU Landfill Directive banned all ‘sludge wet waste’ containing more than 10% liquid volume being disposed of at landfill, without receiving pre-treatment. As a result, Sweeptech’s staff recognised that producers and, therefore, owners of sludge wet waste did not have a compliant or environmentally safe waste-disposal remedy. Therefore, the business created and patented its wet-waste recycling process.
The process is applicable to a wide range of organisations including waste companies, utility companies, construction companies, highways authorities, local authorities, airports and manufacturers. It provides the following benefits:
Regulatory compliance.
Material recycling.
Sustainability improvement (including ‘Waste Strategy 2000’ landfill reduction reporting benefits for local authorities).
Carbon footprint reduction.
Environmental protection.
Waste disposal cost reduction.
Revenue generation opportunity.
Delivers up to 90% reduction in waste volume to landfill.
Delivers about 80% waste material recycling capability.
Changes the Landfill Tax obligation.
Reduces commercial transport movement.
Helps eradicate ‘leachate’ pollution to the water course.
Removes water hydrant licence costs.
Reduces water depletion from local reservoirs.
By using this facility in the last year, the business’s own street cleansing operation has reduced its landfill deposits by 18,000 tonnes and its commercial vehicle carbon footprint by over 100,000 miles.
To find out more about this project, please contact:
To see the Sweeptech Environmental Services LLP video click here.
Engagement Major Commendation
Sponsored by E.ON
Skanska
The Environment Own-It!
Sir Stuart Rose (right) presenting the award to Paul Wright, Operations Director.
Skanska is one of the world’s leading construction groups with expertise in construction, development of commercial and residential projects, and public-private partnerships. Skanska’s businesses have been operating in the UK for over 100 years. Today, they employ 4,600 people and undertake work for public and private sector clients that is worth £1.3 billion each year.
The Environment Own-it! campaign ran from January 2009 until May 2011 at the Walsall Manor Hospital redevelopment - a £174 million PFI project. It complemented a site-wide behavioural change campaign at the site. The objective of Environment Own-It! was to embed Skanska’s corporate environmental ethos and targets at site level by:
Engaging with all staff, the supply chain and the workforce.
Changing attitudes to the environment and waste.
Utilising resources efficiently.
Making measurable cost and environmental savings.
The campaign initiated numerous no-cost and low-cost innovations. Many of the successes were instigated by the supply chain and workforce. The main commitment required was time to carry out training, workshops, inspections and audits. Environmental benefits and financial savings included:
Zero environmental incidents.
23 accredited training places delivered to supply chain.
445 individuals attended environmentally themed workshops.
25 tonnes of packaging waste re-used due to workforce innovations.
330 tonnes of hazardous waste avoided.
No-cost workforce innovations resulted in waste savings worth £7,100.
14 trade contractors have achieved, or aim to achieve, ISO 14001 as a result of a Skanska-led intervention.
Environment Own-it! is now being embedded into the culture of Skanska Facilities Services. Significant savings (financial, cost and waste avoided) are anticipated on future construction projects as a result. In addition, plans are in place to reward trade contractors and ndividuals who are making a difference.
To find out more about this project, please contact:
To see the Skanska video click here.