Contracting businesses are currently on a drive to become more sustainable. The construction industry uses plenty of energy through its day-to-day practices, materials, and machinery. But many are looking to become more sustainable. Indeed, 82 percent of architecture, engineering, or construction firms now have a dedicated sustainability team in place. Below, we explore how you can make your contracting business more sustainable.
For a start, sustainability is the right ethical choice. The building business environment contributes 40 percent of the UK’s carbon emissions. And with the world set to warm by 3.2 degrees Celsius this century, businesses must limit this damage by lowering their carbon emissions. On top of this, consumers are now increasingly making their purchasing decisions based on the sustainability of a business. By promoting sustainability, you can attract and retain a new base of customers.
How?
One of the main ways a contracting business can move towards sustainability is by changing the materials it uses. For instance, by prioritizing the use of plywood over timber and hardwoods you can save energy when adding flooring and become more sustainable. Essentially, whichever materials you purchase, you should make sure that they’re sustainably sourced.
Contractors often have to get through plenty of travel – they’ll be traveling all over the country to work on jobs or to pick up goods and materials. To make your business more sustainable you could switch to an electric fleet to avoid the emissions produced by the combustion engine.
Contracting projects often produce plenty of waste. However, you can become more sustainable by finding ways to reuse unwanted materials or items. Ultimately though, the best way to become more sustainable in this regard is by reducing your waste. You can do this by training your staff to work more efficiently and train them to cut out the mistakes that lead to waste.
Producing machinery uses up lots of energy. Plus, the production process will lead to high carbon emissions. Ideally, you’ll be looking to avoid purchasing new machinery to lower costs and become more sustainable. If your machinery breaks you should endeavor to look for a fix first of all. However, if you can’t restore an item of machinery then you could instead try and purchase reconditioned equipment for your projects.
Making your contracting business more sustainable can seem like a lot of hassle. However, it’ll benefit you financially in the long term – and it’s the right ethical choice. Just follow the advice above and you should be set to become a more sustainable business.
