Astley Hire achieves sustainability milestone
7 March 2022
Astley Hire has achieved a significant milestone as the company sets out on its journey towards net zero.
The Leigh-based business is one of the first industrial equipment hire companies to achieve carbon-neutral status, following an assessement from December 2020 to November 2021 under the PAS 2060 framework, a specification produced and published by the British Standards Institution.
In 2021 Astley Hire embarked on the project to address how they could further minimise the environmental impact of the business.
The company has held the ISO 14001 environmental standard for many years but was inspired to make the big push for carbon neutrality by the UK’s target to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Astley Hire, whose premises are shown above, worked with the Charis Ventures consultancy to form and implement a comprehensive carbon scheme. This reduced a potential carbon footprint of 62.5 tonnes down to a residual value of 15.2 tonnes, which has been offset via the government approved Carbon Footprint scheme.
The PAS 2060 results will be certified by an external body.
Astley Hire’s general manager, Martin Doran, commented: “We have always been aware of the impact of our business activities on the outside world. Our customers who prioritise their green credentials can benefit greatly from knowing they are hiring equipment from a carbon-neutral provider.”
Looking ahead, the company’s aim for 2022 is to reduce carbon offset by a further 25%, with similar targets for future years.
Beyond that, Astley Hire will examine business processes and seek ways to improve key areas such as its vehicle fleet efficiency, the fuel used in hire equipment, employee commuting, and the digitalisation of processes.
Company directors Stephen and Michael Dorricott said: “This is probably one of the biggest milestones we have reached as a business in our 56 years of existence. We, as directors, have always been passionate about reducing the environmental impact of the business we own.
“We are aware that this is only one step in our journey and there is still work to do.”
