BALFOUR Beatty has launched the company’s roadmap towards a zero carbon construction site, demonstrating the ‘art of the possible’ for the Edinburgh Biomes project at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE).
The contractor was commissioned by the RBGE to help deliver the landmark Edinburgh Biomes project, which includes improving the energy efficiency of the Garden’s glasshouses and building new facilities to reduce carbon footprint and provide a safe bio-secure propagation environment.
Recognising that an estimated 80% of the firm’s carbon dioxide emissions are generated from its supply chain, Balfour Beatty explained how it will be focusing on reducing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions associated with the construction phase. The company will monitor its own emissions, as well as those associated with on-site supply chains, the embodied carbon of materials used, emissions generated from transport vehicles to and from the site, and waste generated.
Balfour Beatty has vowed to share its progress with customers, supply chain partners and government through a dedicated website.
Wider activities in Balfour Beatty’s environmental plans include its Carbon Conscious training programme, which helps to improve employees’ understanding of the carbon costs and impacts of their behaviours; a Digital Innovation Hub, demonstrating digital activities including virtual reality, virtual twins and digital project control rooms; and a Sustainable Evolution event to highlight a range of solutions across the company from electric plant and vehicles through to modern methods of construction and simulators.
Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group chief executive, said, “Balfour Beatty set out its vision for the construction site of the future in 2017. But with the growing importance of the climate change emergency, we know we need to take decisive action now. We are proud to be at the forefront of this critical movement; leading the way in making the UK a world leader in carbon reduction and supporting our industry in delivering the infrastructure for a net zero world.”
Kwasi Kwarteng, the UK Government secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, commented, “Balfour Beatty’s ‘Towards Zero Carbon Construction Site’ is an outstanding example of the level of ambition needed to achieve our climate goals. It’s inspiring to see a UK business raising the bar for net zero construction sites, helping us all to build back greener.”
