SUSTAINABILITY
“This will help merchants not only secure sales but also become a trusted partner for their customers.”
Green design
Having a positive impact is important from any angle; after all, Finch points out, greener design cuts down carbon footprints, allowing today’s construction industry to be more energy efficient and reduce environmental emissions. “When it comes to a solution, it’s all about thinking differently and adopting a smarter way to operate and overcome tough environmental challenges. As a merchant, customers not only want to buy sustainable solutions, but they want to buy from a supplier that is making sustainability part of their business agenda,” he says, adding that Burdens has a rich heritage of supporting its customers with innovative products that help support everyday projects, continuing to help make a positive impact within the civils space.
One key product range Burdens has used that has had a positive impact is the ACO StormBrixx Range, which is a unique plastic geocellular stormwater management system for infiltration usage. Due to its versatile design, it can be used across all environments as a standalone solution or even as part of an integrated drainage scheme. Plus, Finch says, an added eco-friendly bonus is the ability to fit more products on a delivery vehicle, which instantly reduces deliveries to any site by up to 75%.
“The largest example of where Burdens has used this is with Tithegrove Limited, where we worked alongside ACO Water Management. Here, we were able to reduce the number of artic lorry deliveries to the site from 74 to 17. This reduced the number of heavy-loaded vehicles
in proximity to the site and reduced the carbon footprint of the project.”
Another project using continuous innovation at Burdens is the Smart Blue-Green Roof Design, which creates a positive impact on the ecosystem in urban areas. “We have worked closely with suppliers to design this system. This involves a Permavoid system being installed on a high-raised roof, to store water to assist with irrigating a laid garden meadow to encourage insects and small birds back to urbanised built-up areas,” Finch says.
A final innovation the team is currently working on is a Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL), an alternative to compact clay. This material has been designed to line a pond or lagoon, saving on time and money, as well as reducing your carbon footprint. At present, an artic delivery vehicle can fit up to 4,500 meters squared within
one lorry, whereas for the same coverage for compact clay, you would need 187 vehicles. This efficient solution reduces the need for raw materials and massively lowers transport emissions.
Stay informed
The climate agenda is everchanging, therefore merchants and suppliers alike need to ensure that they monitor industry news and listen closely to what customers want.
Despite the tough environments, we are in with the increase in material costs, Burdens is always on the customer first mission to make every effort to source materials ethically and educate the team on the latest research developments. This allows them to stay on top of the mountain and ahead of the game when it comes to continual innovation.
As a result of positive impact, it is increasingly more valuable to think ahead as a supplier or a merchant to make sure you’re ahead of the game and customers’ first point of call. As we move forward, the industry needs to treat and deliver each project as a fresh design or opportunity to influence and change the way standard construction methods are used. The trend in the current market is to concentrate on the products that are installed today and how they are made to demonstrate environmental benefits. In the future, the industry will start to look at the design and how to reduce its maintenance as well as the associated costs and damage it may cause to the environment. The focus will now become how you can offset these carbon emissions by having high biodiversity targets. n
10 A supplement to builders merchants journal November 2022
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