How to turn green
28 January 2021
In several of the popular Q and A articles here on the site, interviewees have said that they believe the next big opportunity in hire is the demand for green products.
An excellent CPA seminar recently gave an update on green technology, drivers behind its adoption, and hurdles to overcome.
Peter Beach, Sales & Marketing Manager with welfare cabin manufacturer Genquip Groundhog, outlined green measures that manufacturers are adopting.
Units like Genquip’s Fusion Pulse models (pictured above) can be fitted with solar panels to trickle-charge a 12V battery so that the diesel generator’s operation can typically be reduced by 80%.
Fitting low-flush toilets and waterless urinals, as well as recycling rainwater, was not only eco-friendly in itself, he said, but also reduced the number of water deliveries and site maintenance visits required.
Peter explained that Groundhog models can be run on HVO fuel (hydrotreated vegetable oil) that gives fewer emissions, and the company is introducing units powered by methanol fuel cells and LPG biogas.
As CPA policy manager Chris Cassley explained, the Government has made a firm commitment to a net carbon zero future (Boris Johnson produced a ten-point plan for making British industry greener last November and more detailed plans are expected later this year).
Besides being green, this should create jobs in building and maintaining the necessary infrastructure, and the Government also expected its public sector investment to be exceeded by the private sector.
And that’s one of the challenges. The pandemic has disrupted work schedules, cash flow and equipment investment cycles. Another speaker, Chris Matthew, strategic manager with Flannery Plant Hire, said that while it was important to focus on new technology, there was a law of diminishing returns regarding the benefits arising from ever more sophisticated – and expensive – machinery.
It was therefore important to address less obvious but nevertheless significant parameters, such as machine idling time and use of auto-idle, engine usage, fuel consumption and changing established work practices where appropriate. Behavioural shifts could deliver tangible green benefits.
Going green represents opportunities and challenges, and it’s likely that the CPA will revisit this fascinating topic later this year.
