Environmental Management in Construction

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Resource Efficiency
Gary Mortimer Environmental Advisor Cumbria
Rural Enterprise Agency Redhills, Penrith
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What is Resource Efficiency?

• One key fact that increasing environmental
  awareness has taught us is that
• - the worlds resources are finite
• Being more resource efficient means
• using LESS Energy
• using LESS Water
• generating LESS Waste
• saving MORE Money

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Business Case for Resource Efficiency

• 4 Main Drivers
• SAVING MONEY
• COMPLYING WITH LEGISLATION
• SOCIAL AWARENESS
• ETHICAL REASONS

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Environmental Business Support- Resource
Efficiency

• The Team
• CREA
• IEMA qualified auditors
• The Cost
• Free of charge
• The Support
• Advice training on all environmental issues
  facing businesses
• Energy climate change
• Managing waste
• Legislation
• Costs
• Business green image EMS

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Cumbria Business Environment Network

• CBEN
• Over 300 businesses across Cumbria
• Available free to all sizes types of business
• Based on British Standard for EMS
• Phased approach gaining awards

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CBEN

• Environmental Management Systems

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Key Elements of an EMS

• Initial Review where you are now
• Environmental Policy key document
• Understand legal requirements
• Decide what big issues you want to manage
• Operational controls
• procedures
• staff training
• Improve
• objectives targets
• management programmes
• Check youre doing it right
• monitoring
• documents
• audits
• Review

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CBEN

• Why?
• Improve costs efficiency
• Comply with current legislation and minimise
  risks of prosecution
• Demonstrate environmental performance to
  customers clients
• Website regular newsletter
• Training events tailored to business needs
• Free to join

What Next? Visit www.cumbriaben.com Email cben_at_c
rea.co.uk Call 01768 891555 Write See business
cards
for address details
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Where to go from here?

• Monitor Use
• Look at areas costing you most
• Look into each area of your business
• Use sources of free advice
• Address low cost/ no cost measures quickly
• Look at sources of funding ECA, loans etc
• Raise staff awareness
• Raise customer/client awareness

ENERGY - WATER - MATERIALS - WASTE - TRANSPORT
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• ENERGY

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Energy Costs

• Costs to you
• Price per unit (kWh)
• Standing charges
• Climate Change Levy
• Dont need to invest money to reduce energy use
  simple measures can save 10
• Combine these with low cost measures save up to
  20 in energy use

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Saving Energy

• How much are you using?
• look at bills
• read meters
• ask accountants
• look out for estimated readings, monthly direct
  debits tariff changes

Units 1kWh power of 1kW for 1 hour Costs
around 10pence
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Saving Energy

• 2. Switch Off!
• Switch off equipment when not using it
• Switch off overnight at weekends
• Switch off when unused
• Turn off standby

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Saving Energy
A typical PC (including monitor) left on for 24
hours each day can use 60 or more of energy per
year. Turned off at night and weekends, the same
unit will only use around 15 of energy per
year.  This amount can be reduced by a further
10 or more by adopting simple energy management
techniques. Carbon Trust
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Saving Energy

• 3. Speak to colleagues
• Simply raising employee awareness can save 5 of
  your energy use
• Team effort
• Engage staff - ask staff for their help to
  identify energy wastage, evaluate and recognise
  their suggestions
• Raise Awareness - using stickers posters in
  staff areas e.g. order a free Carbon Trust
  starter pack
• Order a free Practical Introduction to Reducing
  Energy Bills from Carbon Trust

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Saving Energy

• 4. Dont waste heat
• Dont heat unoccupied areas eg storerooms
• Avoid opening windows external doors when
  heating is on turn it down
• Insulate roof space, water tanks, doors windows
• Fit draught proofing

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Saving Energy

• 5. Use heating controls
• Use thermostats turn them down
• TRVs
• wall mounted
• tank or boiler mounted
• Locate thermostats away from draughts hot spots
  
• Set timers correctly check them regularly
• Leave a buffer zone between air con and heating
  e.g. heat to 19oC, cool from 23oC

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Saving Energy

• 6. Lighting
• Switch off lights in all unoccupied areas or out
  of hours
• Clean windows skylights
• Clean light bulbs/ fittings
• Label light switches in banks
• Fit movement sensors (PIRs) for storerooms,
  toilets etc
• use light sensors for external lighting

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Saving Energy
FACT Replacing a 100W tungsten bulb with a CFL
saves 8.50 per year 70 over lifetime of the
bulb

• Myths about energy saving bulbs
• they take a while to come on
• they have poor light quality
• they wont fit light fittings
• they dont dim

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Saving Energy

• 7. Install low-energy lighting
• replace standard bulbs with compact fluorescent
  lamps (CFLs) they use UP TO 75 less energy
• replace 38mm (T12) fluorescent tubes with 26mm
  (T8) or (T5) tubes
• purchase triphosphate coated tubes (rather than
  halophosphate)
• check range of spotlights high wattage
  floodlights available

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Saving Energy

• 8. Run equipment efficiently
• Keep it clean eg extractor fans, back of fridges
  freezers
• Locate in cool, ventilated areas
• Fit blinds or curtains to chilled areas
• Maintain equipment regularly
• Replacing an old (over 15yrs) boiler with a
  condensing boiler can save 10-20 energy used
• Replace old appliances with A rated models
• Replace old motors with EFF1 models

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Saving Energy
Advice Carbon Trust www.carbontrust.co.uk Energy
Saving Trust www.est.gov.uk Free environmental
audits CREA www.crea.co.uk Financial
Help Interest Free Loans 5k - 100k
(www.carbontrust.co.uk) Enhanced Capital
Allowance www.eca.gov.uk
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Transport

• Driving Vehicles
• Fuel efficient driving see Energy Saving Trust
• Measure fuel use mpg
• Check correct tyre pressure improves fuel
  economy

Facts Under inflated tyres can use up to 5 more
fuel Driving at 70mph rather than 60mph uses more
fuel
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• WATER

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Save Water

• Water can cost you 3 times
• Water supply
• Water heating
• Waste water disposal

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Save Water

• 9. Stop wasting water
• Monitor what you use, read your meters regularly
• Identify high water-use activities can use
  sprays/ guns rather than hoses
• Fix drips leaks now!
• Check for leaks

FACT Fixing a leaky tap saves 60
litres/hour (Average employee uses
25litres/person/day)
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Save Water

• 10. Look at water-using processes
• Use alternative dry methods e.g. sweeping a
  floor
• Only run appliances when full
• Consider Rainwater harvesting - using rainwater
  for watering plants, washing vehicles, washing
  down outside areas etc
• Reduce water pressure

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Save Water

• 11. Consider water-reducing fittings
• Percussion taps (lt20)
• Infra red taps (200)
• Urinal controls (100)
• In-cistern devices (if cistern capacity 9 litres)
• Low water-use appliances

Help Water Technology List on www.eca.gov.uk Envir
owise www.envirowise.gov.uk
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• WASTE

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Waste

• Landfill tax is crising.
• It is currently around 32/ tonne
• This may be increasing to 40 tonne in April 2009
• This does not include the costs of skip hire or
  removal from site
• Costs to business are increasing for disposal to
  Landfill

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Waste Hierarchy
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Manage waste

• 12. Find out what waste costs you?
• Waste can cost up to 4 of business turnover
• Disposal costs (currently 32/ tonne landfill
  tax)
• Hidden costs can be 5-20 times more than disposal
  (costs of purchase, storage, use in production,
  staff time etc)
• Quantify types amounts of waste
• Identify sources of waste
• Work through waste hierarchy to turn that 4 into
  profit

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Manage waste

• 13. Eliminate reduce waste
• Work with supply chain partners to supply goods
  in minimal packaging (plastic crates, returnable
  boxes)
• Avoid disposable items e.g. plastic vending cups
  - use mugs
• Optimise processes to reduce wastage
• Order in bulk and arrange good storage
• Design your own products with minimal packaging

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Manage waste

• 14. Reuse waste
• Reuse boxes, bubble wrap and other packaging
• Ask suppliers to deliver in reusable packaging
  (plastic crates, returnable boxes, drums)
• Re-use paper from misprints e.g. as note pads
• Refill toner cartridges
• Donate old PCs, furniture, textiles equipment

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Manage waste

• 15. Recycle
• Segregate card, plastic, cans, bottles at source
• Use labelled containers at convenient locations
• Compost fruit veg waste if possible
• Buy recycled goods (packaging, paper)
• Use recyclable packaging

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Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency Redhills,
Penrith, CA11 0DT 01768 891555
Other useful sources of advice Envirowise
www.envirowise.gov.uk www.netregs.gov.uk