With ever tightening environmental legislation, rising costs, and endless challenges to the established ways of operating, it’s easy to see the Government’s ambitious carbon zero targets as a huge problem for the construction industry. The sector is already struggling with soaring fuel prices, dramatic changes in fuel taxation and ever more stringent environmental demands from clients.

Just last year, the Government announced that any company bidding for a contract worth £5million or more would have to demonstrate carbon reduction plans and show that they were on target for the Government’s target of zero carbon by 2050. New financial legislation next year could further tighten the screws, as London bids to become a net-zero finance centre.

Yet far from being a cost and an inconvenience, cutting carbon can be a real opportunity for construction companies. It is a chance to change the way things are done for the better, saving significant costs as well as saving the planet - and Think Hire is here to help you.

Clean energy

While it is possible to pay for carbon offsetting to balance your environmental books, this option is becoming more expensive and harder to achieve. It’s much easier to simply reduce the carbon your sites create in the first place. Think Hire has a wide range of solar power generator and solar hybrid generator options that can significantly reduce, or in some cases completely eliminate, your reliance on diesel.

This is no tree-hugging pipe dream, but proven technology that has been demonstrated time and time again at diverse sites across the UK. Think Hire case studies show how a solar power generator can cut carbon by as much as 88% in practice. And that’s just the start of it…

Lower costs

Introducing a solar power generator not only cuts carbon emissions, but also cuts costs. The same case study found that using a solar power generator reduced project costs by 60% - and that was before the double increase in diesel costs from the fuel crisis and the red diesel tax changes.

Planning for zero-carbon, through the introduction of solar power generators on your site, is an opportunity to fight back against the rising costs that are crippling our industry. For once, the right thing to do for the planet is also the right thing to do for your business.

Energy management

One of the keys to achieving net-zero will be efficient energy management, and once again, Think Hire is here to help you with the real-time data you need. Our energy management solutions will help you to ensure that your energy is used as efficiently and responsibly as possible. Remote energy management not only helps you to understand energy usage and patterns, but also identifies best practice solutions to improve energy use, from both traditional diesel and solar power generators.

As discussed in Construction News: ‘capturing data to forecast carbon footprint means generating detailed models of operations. These models accelerate operational efficiencies and business growth…’. In other words, the more you have to learn about your business to comply with environmental regulations, the more you will understand your operations, creating endless opportunities for improvement and efficiencies.

Seize the day

At the end of the day, environmental compliance and carbon reduction planning are not optional, so it is up to businesses to make the most of the situation. Instead of begrudging the changes and bemoaning the inconvenience, we need to rise to the challenge and make the most of the opportunities this new approach presents. At Think Hire, we’ve built our whole business around sustainability, and we have the experience, the expertise and the equipment to help your company to do the same. So, get in touch today and find out how easy it is to take advantage of the opportunities available in the push for a carbon zero future.