Sunbelt’s squirrels show sustainability
9 October 2023
Understanding how to embark on the journey to Net Zero can be daunting for many end users owing to the sheer diversity of eco-friendly equipment available, the variety of fuel options and the different ways in which machines and site setups can be managed.
So to help enlighten construction industry professionals, Sunbelt Rentals held two Green Solutions Days last week at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, home ground of Reading Football Club. The hirer’s customers could drop in and see machines and technology from various suppliers, including Shindaiwa, AJC EasyCabin and its sibling division AJC Power Solutions, Hilti, JCB, Trime UK, Punch Flybrid and Oxford Plastics, amongst others.
Charlotte Evans, who is Senior Marketing Manager with Sunbelt Rentals and the hirer’s marketing lead for green solutions, told me that while many contractors are familiar with sustainability, especially Tier 1 companies, the need for awareness is now cascading down to other levels of the construction industry.
As part of its work to raise awareness of green issues and equipment in a straightforward and in engaging way, Sunbelt has devised a clever marketing campaign called Inspired by Nature. Drawing analogies between different kinds of sustainable technology and examples from the animal kingdom, the initiative – which includes specially made short videos – makes the issues easier to grasp while emphasising the equipment's eco-friendly characteristics.
For example, as squirrels traditionally store nuts to provide a future energy source, they symbolise battery power storage systems. Spiky hedgehogs convey a message about smoothing out ‘spikes’ in electrical supplies by using on-site energy management and distribution boards, while nocturnal moths are attracted to the dazzling illumination from hybrid and battery powered lighting towers that charge up during the daytime.
This imaginative series will be extended in the future. I understand that the next representative creature could be owls to promote solar powered lighting and other equipment.
Sunbelt currently has a fleet of more than 750 battery energy storage units ranging from 15kWh to 422kWh and these can be run in parallel to give higher capacities. These machines can typically achieve carbon reductions of at least 50 per cent with similar decreases in fuel consumption and costs, and this is an important message that the company wants to convey. It also says that, although the initial hire cost might be higher, users will achieve overall reductions in fossil fuel usage, site deliveries and maintenance.
Battery units give the opportunity to reduce the size of a backup generator on a site owing to the optimal energy usage of a site system. The display at the Reading open days also showed how the batteries can be recharged via solar panels.
Also on display was an AJC Ecosmart welfare unit with roof-mounted solar panels and rainwater harvesting capabilities, with an integral battery providing power. This was shown alongside a Charge Pod from AJC Power Solutions which harnesses solar energy to charge power tools and other battery powered equipment. A backup generator or a hydrogen fuel cell can also be incorporated.
Sunbelt explained that using such charging equipment reduces the number of cables and temporary electrical supplies needed on site, showing how there are benefits in areas such as Health & Safety as well as in sustainability.
Sunbelt Rentals’ sales operation promoted examples of environmentally friendly items that it can provide, such as PPE, road cones and highway signs manufactured from recycled materials. For example, protective gloves can be made from plastic bottles.
The company has also produced a brochure explaining the overall cost savings that can be achieved by using solar and hybrid lighting equipment from Trime UK.
Another area at the Reading demonstration days explained how Sunbelt can use building information modelling (BIM) techniques to plan a site setup virtually and to demonstrate aspects of performance, carbon footprint and other parameters before installation takes place, again helping to achieve optimal site efficiency as well as cost savings.
Indeed, BIM was used in designing many of the 650 coronavirus testing centres that Sunbelt supplied to the Department of Health. Being able to design and adapt setups quickly enabled fast deployment, often in a matter of days.
The Reading Green Solutions Days were clearly a useful exercise in promoting Net Zero equipment and site setups to a wide audience, especially as it gave the opportunity to see and handle products at first-hand, as well as talking to informed personnel. Sunbelt might hold similar events at other locations in the future.
● Another service promoted at Reading was the Sunbelt Rentals Express, a bespoke secure equipment store that monitors the usage of tools and equipment and manages stock levels automatically. More on that in a future blog post.
Photos: Alan Guthrie
