Best Sustainable Business Practice

Winner

Kingspan Insulated Panels

In 2006 the Carbon Trust carried out surveys at three of Kingspan Insulated Panels’ sites and issued a report specifying a six point plan for energy savings. Throughout 2007 the company has been using these reports as the basis for developing strategies to reduce its carbon footprint. Wind surveys were carried out at all of its sites and planning permission for a wind turbine has been given at its Kingscourt site while its visitor’s centre at Holywell in Flintshire uses a host of renewable technologies. Plastic, cardboard and steel waste from the manufacturing plants is all recycled and recycling solutions for its insulated panel systems themselves are being sought and developed. The firm has achieved ISO 9001, OHSAS and ISO14001 accreditation for its three manufacturing sites and was one of the first UK manufacturers to sign up to membership of ‘dcarbon8’, which provides an independently verified mechanism for assessing carbon impacts and the capture of carbon.

Runners-up

Arup

The Arup Building Sustainability Group has unlocked the key to sustainability for many of its clients with packages that they would not have otherwise considered. This includes using business models to show how zero carbon developments can be achieved with relatively little additional costs and demonstrating to the Greater London Authority and the London Development Agency how residential buildings can be taken to zero carbon and the cost impacts of doing so.

Barratt Developments and Knauf Drywall plasterboard recycling system

Since January 2006 Barratt Developments in partnership with Knauf Drywall has managed to send around 7000 tonnes of waste plasterboard from landfill and back into production of new product through an innovative recycling system. That’s enough to cover 1,200 houses. This is achieved through an on-site segregation and collection system and educational seminars to all its construction teams across the country. Quite an achievement.

Inspace Partnerships

Inspace Partnerships can boast some impressive statistics. An agreement with British Gypsum will see offcuts equivalent to 20,000 sheets of plasterboard recycled in 2007; all its new homes’ are designed to emit 25% less carbon dioxide than current Building Regs require; and its business policy on local employment requires a minimum of 20% to be achieved and in many cases more than 30%. On top of this all staff receive a domestic energy monitor for their own electricity use.

One Planet Products

One Planet Products business is a simple solution to an age-old problem. As a members-owned bulk buyers club set up for housing associations, it makes it easier and more cost effective for its members to specify and use high quality, sustainable building products and materials. Building on the success of the initial business plane, the firm is now looking to develop a membership stream for architects and specifiers.

Wates Group

Sustainability is a key five-year business strategy at Wates. It is now 18 months into its Target Zero programme, which aims to eliminate waste to landfill to zero by 2011. So far this initiative has resulted in 66% of waste being diverted from landfill, the appointment of 30 nominated waste partners to work with the company to achieve the Target Zero, all of its sites having a waste management plan, and more than 1,000 hours of waste training for its employees.

Sponsor

Sponsored by Jewson

Jewson is the UK’s leading supplier of timber and building materials and places sustainability at the very core of its business.

From being one of the largest importers of certified timber, to supplying building materials for the regeneration of social housing and the construction of major private sector developments, Jewson believes that environmental and social concerns should be a fundamental part of every stage of the procurement process.

As part of the Saint-Gobain Building Distribution Group, Europe’s largest distributor of building materials, Jewson is in the unique position of being able to offer customers access to more than 400,000 products from the world’s largest suppliers.

As sponsor of the ‘Best Sustainable Business Practice’ Award, we look forward to finding out who has been making a difference at this year’s award ceremony.