UK Net Zero Business Champion Andrew Griffith MP has sent a letter to the British manufacturing sector encouraging businesses to make the pledge to cut emissions in half by 2030, with the goal of going "net zero" by 2050.
The Conservative MP has been tasked with helping businesses around the UK reduce their carbon emissions as part of the Together For Our Planet ‘Business Climate Leaders' campaign, which was launched in advance of the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow in November.
In this latest letter, Griffith addressed businesses within the manufacturing sector in particular, stating he wants to show that it "continues to be serious about sustainability".
"The government, working with industry experts, have developed new advice bespoke to the manufacturing sector, to help you as you continue supporting your members to play their vital role in cutting the UK’s carbon emissions," he wrote.
"This important advice outlines the small steps manufacturers can take that will collectively make a big difference in helping us fight climate change to create a brighter and more sustainable future.
"Businesses can also take the first step on their journey to a low carbon future today, by committing to cutting their carbon emissions in half by 2030 and to reach ‘net zero’ by 2050, when they visit the UK Business Climate Hub."
Griffith concluded by stating that businesses in the UK were "leading the way" in the fight against climate change and thanked the manufacturing sector for its ongoing effort.
Several businesses set out their own commitments towards preventing climate change in the most recent edition of The Parliamentary Review, with Profine a clear example.
Primarily focused on the manufacture of PVCu window and door system extrusion, managing director Gareth Jones outlined the steps it has taken to ensure its processes were sustainable.
"The design of our products has energy efficiency at its core, and every installation of Kömmerling windows and doors has a positive impact on the environment," he wrote.
"Furthermore, PVCu windows and doors, when replaced, can be fully recycled, and in 2019, we invested in a facility to process the material in the UK. We therefore have a sustainable long-term future."
Ecogreen Plant Hire was another notable example, with the firm offering waterless wheel cleaning for the construction, quarrying and landfill industries.
Director of sales David Crick explained in his latest piece for the Review that Ecogreen steps in to help remove the mud generated during the construction process, with the firm's focus on helping developers fulfil their "social and environmental responsibilities to limit the negative impacts of their operations".
Ecogreen does this through its own innovation solution, which Crick described as follows: "Our DriveOn V-Tech system is also a raised grid, 20 metres long and three metres wide, but it has approximately 60 per cent less surface area than typical rumble strips. The transverse bars are three centimetres wide and 20 centimetres apart, and they create more vibration and more tyre flexing than a conventional rumble strip.
"As such, more mud is removed, falling through into the void below and preventing the system from clogging. Wheels aren’t recontaminated, and much less mud is carried off-site. We can cite many examples of road sweepers being made redundant and sites being allowed to continue operating because of the deployment of our system."
Meanwhile, OCL Regeneration was established to champion the use of sustainable construction materials and the recycling of construction and demolition waste.
Managing director Stuart Gready told The Parliamentary Review just one example of how the firm makes this possible.
"We regenerate assets using the circular economy model and build in highly sustainable and more recyclable materials through our proprietary products and methods," he said.
"A great example of this would be when we mobilise to site to crush and screen C&DW and then mix it with our specialist equipment and eco-binders to create enhanced products that can replace aggregates, asphalts and concretes, all of which would typically be made of primary quarried products but in our case are nearly 100 per cent secondary."
