SUSTAINABILITY
INNOVATION HELPING FMS MEET GREEN GOALS
David Ball, Founder and Chairman of David Ball Group, shares his insight into how the construction industry is working to help
improve the sustainability of the industry, aiding the role of the FM.
It can be a logistical nightmare balancing the many facets of an FM’s role whilst keeping up to date with the latest innovations. Sustainability has been on FMs’ agenda since the government began to drive change in this area, this change has resulted in the role evolving into a much longer- term way of thinking, demanding an understanding on new technical issues. In the field of sustainability it is particularly difficult as new technologies and services are constantly being made available.
A company’s sustainability is dependent on many things, from its manufacturing processes to the product it sells as well as its carbon emissions and the bricks and mortar the company is housed in. These environmental considerations should play a vital role in all outsourcing decisions.
BRICKS AND MORTAR Bricks and mortar are not without
their sustainability issues, indeed, ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is the third highest man-made producer of CO2
, after energy and transportation,
and is used twice as much around the world as any other building material, creating an unsustainable industry practice that requires radical change if it is to continue.
The industry has already made significant advancements towards encouraging sustainability in this sector. This is particularly evident
48 | TOMORROW’S FM
in the introduction of voluntary rating systems such as Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM). These methods assign new and renovated buildings a rating determined by how green they are, promoting environmentally conscious construction.
YOUR GREEN
CREDENTIALS Of particular interest to FMs, LEED certified buildings are also shown to have much lower costs in areas such as construction, operating, waste disposal, maintenance and utilities. However, systems such as LEED and BREEAM are not compulsory and have not been adopted by the entire construction industry. These systems are also not widely understood by FMs, leading to missed opportunities for companies to improve their green credentials.
Other innovations have looked to tackle the industry’s green credentials more directly. At the David Ball Group we have recently invented Cemfree, a zero-cement structural concrete, which uses a by-product of other industries to provide up to a 95% reduction in CO2
which is the equivalent of taking 750,000 cars off the road.
REVOLUTIONARY
SUSTAINABILITY The revolutionary product has created considerable global interest and demand is high for Cemfree from those businesses committed to their green agenda but determined to continue their rate of growth.
Cemfree has received several industry accolades since its recent launch including Skanska’s Supply Chain Green Solutions Award, the CONSTRUCT award for materials and product innovation, as well as being named the winner of the Shell Springboard Awards.
compared with OPC. If Cemfree
was used at capacity in the UK alone it would account for a saving of 2,100,000 tonnes of CO2
per year,
In recent years there has been a new trend for stakeholders, no longer satisfied with just the lowest price, to demand sustainable practices from companies. This is adding further pressure to FMs under constant pressure to reduce costs whilst adding value. However for an FM to successfully integrate sustainability into a company, whilst achieving a lower bottom line, all aspects of the business must be constantly reviewed and evaluated. Fortunately this work is being supported through the efforts of sectors such as the construction industry, as new products are brought to market that are both viable and sustainable.
www.cemfree.com
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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