Top Five Tips to Go Green in Facilities Management

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01 September 2023

Louis Rayner from Sunbelt Rentals gives his five top tips for “going green” in facilities management.

Louis joined Sunbelt Rentals, formally A-Plant in 2017. With over 16 years’ experience in the hire industry, Louis has held a variety of customer focused positions before progressing to his current role as Business Development Director, where he leads a team of FM business development specialists who are focused on securing strategic client partnerships. He has vast experience in managing large framework agreements in excess of £10 million+ per annum, with sustainability & ESG at the forefront of all partnerships.

 

Small Changes in FM

 

It has never been more important to ensure you’re making sustainable decisions when it comes to the management of your facility. Developing and implementing a sustainability strategy into your business creates a workplace that has minimal impact on the environment.

Delivering this is not only good for your business’ reputation and achieving your sustainability goals but also crucial for our planet to help to drive emissions down, create a greener climate and lead a positive change across the industry.

There are many factors to consider when designing, executing, and the ongoing maintenance of the existing facility. It can be challenging to change traditional practices that have been in place for a long time. But small changes have the ability to positively impact your business’ contribution to climate change.

Here are my five top tips for how you can “go green”, and have a positive effect on driving efficiencies and reducing costs when managing and maintaining your facility,

 

1. Go Green With Your Equipment

 

One of the most evident ways to act sustainably as a business is to source and use environmentally friendly equipment. Temporary power solutions have often been large contributors to noise and carbon emissions on sites. But a growing range of innovative solutions have been developed over recent years, helping reduce noise, emissions, fuel consumption – and money!

 

What Solutions Should I be Looking at?

 

• Using Stage V Generators, that utilise the latest technology to improve air quality by reducing CO2 emissions, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
• Battery storage units can be installed alongside a generator or mains connection to offer periods of silent power and reduce fuel consumption.
• You can also make the switch from diesel to HVO fuel, reducing your carbon emissions by up to 90 per cent.
• If you require light on site, solar lights can operate all year round can reduce your running costs.
• To increase efficiency and reduce carbon footprint, your facility can utilise electric equipment including electric lighting or powered access.

 

2. Benefit From BIM to Reduce Wastage

 

BIM (Building Information Modelling) is the process of generating and managing data about a building or piece of infrastructure during its lifecycle.

Using BIM, you can digitally build your working environment before work begins, ensuring the rental equipment is the right size for the job, it has the right features and capabilities and the right number of assets are on site. This can help you reduce wastage and save you money by not over ordering on equipment and parts.   

Plus, with BIM, the environmental impact of the project is fully understood. You do not need to guess what the effect of your project on the environment around you is going to be; all the calculations are done before you even begin.

You can then use this information ahead of the start of the project, to make different decisions, switching out some products for more sustainable options and looking at how they perform within the digital application before moving to a real-life environment.

BIM is your gateway to 100 per cent peace of mind, ensuring you’ll get it right, first time, every time.

 

3. Monitor Your Environment Throughout the Project

 

Once your project is underway and you’re working with a range of sustainable equipment, make sure you continue to monitor the surrounding environment for any pollution and environmental impacts.

Air quality monitors are designed to assess the effects of air pollution from the site while vibration monitoring can help prevent structural damage, especially on construction sites where heavy equipment and machinery will be in operation.

Environmental monitoring is always important, but it can also sometimes be a legal requirement. Not only is regular monitoring necessary for the impact on the climate, but it also protects workers on the site from operating in potentially harmful or dangerous conditions.

 

4. Score your Social Value Initiatives

 

The environmentally friendly decisions you make can also be quantified via the attribution of a ‘social value’ score. By using an online portal, you can determine a social value score which gives clear visibility of the efforts you are making to go green and reduce your carbon footprint.

When planning the full lifecycle of your project, you can quickly see the social value for every ton of carbon emissions you are saving. This allows you to make decisions to swap equipment around to save a significant amount of usage hours, and at the same time reduce carbon emissions to be able to quantify the social value you are delivering for your local community.

There are additional ways to claim social value, such as eliminating waste to landfill and claiming value for the reduction per ton of diverted waste.

 

5. Consolidate your Supply Chain to Reduce Deliveries to site

 

Are you hiring from multiple companies? Are there delays in your orders as a result, resulting in increased costs to your business? If so then you don’t have a consolidated supply chain, which as well as causing day to day practical difficulties is also contributing to unnecessary environmental damage.

A consolidated supply chain based around self-delivery, eco-friendly solutions and safety can save your business money and lower your overall carbon footprint. 

These are just a few of the things you can do to ensure you are making sustainable decisions when it comes to your facilities management.

Picture: a photograph of a green field with wind turbines in the background. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by Louis Rayner | Published 01 September 2023

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