We have had our carbon footprint verified by TÜV UK Ltd to the ISO 14064-3:2006 standard across our operations.
Verification to ISO 14064, is one of the most effective ways to measure, quantify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The audit showed that, when normalised against turnover (£17m in 2014 and £28m in 2015), we had significantly reduced our usage of resources year-on-year and continually exceeded target.
In order to achieve our emissions reduction goal, we developed a strategy based on:
- Investing and upgrading and operating the most efficient plant and technology available.
- Providing staff with training on how to improve their driving to reduce fuel consumption.
- Investing an average of £140k per year on upgrading its fleet of vehicles to ensure that they are the most efficient and low-emission models available.
- Offering shuttle buses to promote vehicle pooling for staff working on our construction sites.
Vicki O’Brien, O’Brien Contractors, said: “We are very much committed to minimising the impact of our activities on the environment and all stakeholders, in order to operate a business that is safe, sustainable and socially responsible. Verifying our footprint to an International standard will serve as a benchmark against to help us achieve our goal of continuously reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”
Our commitment to environmental improvement also saw us become the first to achieve ISO 14001 certification among our core rivals in the civil engineering sector.
Our processes and procedures have also been audited and validated to ISO 9001 for quality and OHSAS 18001, CHAS, Achilles BuildingConfidence (5-star rating) and Achilles RISQS for health and safety.
Vicki added: “By raising our standards, we have been able to operate more akin with our clients, and target major projects with greater contract values, or strategic divisions, placing greater focus on delivery and quality, not just price.”