SUSTAINABILITY
COMMITMENT TO CONSERVATION
P
rotecting the planet is at the top of many companies’ to-do lists, and have been for many years now.
ACO is one such company,
and since 2015 it has cut operational emissions by 75%, including reductions in carbon across core product and materials groups.
Adam Cane, sustainability lead at ACO Technologies, says: “We’re pleased to say that we are part of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the CEO Water Mandate, as well as the UN Global Compact, all of which are helping us be more actively engaged in making environmental progress. Last year, the SBTi approved the goals set out by ACO which set in line its clearly defined path to decrease emissions – according to the Paris Agreement.
“As drainage experts, one of our main focusses when it comes to the environment is the use of water,” Cane adds. “The CEO Water Mandate invites companies to commit to adopting and implementing a comprehensive approach to water management throughout their supply chains. Another element of this is that we are encouraged to engage with the community to improve general understanding of responsible water use for the benefit of the environment. “Along with looking to external organisations and initiatives for guidance, we have turned part of our focus inwards to measure and reduce the embedded carbon of close to 1,000 of our products. Not only that, but with the recent expansion of ACO’s site in Shefford, we have taken the opportunity to include elements such as bat and nest boxes, plant more than 10,000 trees and shrubs, as well as safely divert a nearby stream.” With incoming Schedule 3 legislation impacting how the construction sector deal with drainage, ACO aims to share information freely so that the whole industry has access to the knowledge they need to make environmentally conscious choices. Cane explains: “Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are becoming increasingly
8
recognised as vital components of environmentally friendly schemes and, later this year, will become mandatory for many UK developments. “Similarly,
legislation around biodiversity net gain (BNG) is predicted to have a significant impact on the construction sector.
Developments that fall within mandatory BNG requirements will need to consider biodiversity as fundamental parts of schemes from the early planning stages. These plans then need to be approved by planning authorities and, where a gain of 10% is not feasible, adequate offsets must be put in place.” SuDS solutions can help towards BNG targets because good SuDS are based on the principles of sustainable drainage. They can also directly benefit biodiversity by effectively managing surface water at source and using it as the precious natural resource that it is. He continues: “ACO systems can help by storing water on site for reuse in buildings or for biodiversity, for example in blue/ green roof installations or projects using ACO StormBrixx as underground water attenuation. Both improve biodiversity by keeping water onsite where plants and animals can access it, rather than moving it into the sewer system as quickly as possible, as is the case with most traditional drainage setups.”
ACO has a broad portfolio of products for a wide range of biodiversity and climate change mitigating situations and schemes. Cane says: “Many are specifically designed to create or work alongside SuDS-based
solutions. Often, a key feature of these solutions includes the capacity to store rainwater on site, ready for its slow and controlled release back into the ecosystem, lowering carbon, boosting biodiversity, and mitigating flood risks. ACO also has a range of solutions geared specifically towards protecting wildlife.
“Bat Boxes and Nest Boxes, such as those installed at our site expansion are ideal for protecting vital native bat and bird species. Due to the possibility of construction projects causing habitat fragmentation, ACO have developed a range of Climate Tunnels, creating safe pathways for animals to move between areas that may be vital for feeding, shelter or migration, that would otherwise have been divided by roads.” It also offers a SuDS Swale, which provides a natural looking interface between proprietary and vegetated drainage features, reducing velocity of water, lowering erosion and creating a more even dispersion of water into swales, ponds and other natural drainage features.
Cane says: “At ACO, we are committed to improving our impact on the environment and are proactively working to protect our planet.” n
A supplement to builders merchants journal June 2024
Adam Cane, sustainability lead at ACO Technologies tells BMJ how the company is helping the construction sector make progress for the planet.
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