Galliford Try’s One in a Million initiative to save a minimum of one tonne of carbon (tCO2e) per £1m spent in 2024 has exceeded its target over the course of the past 12 months
Throughout 2024, the programme spanned 49 projects over 11 business units and saved a total of 7,225tCO2e, equivalent to 4tCO2e per £1m.
This is also equivalent to planting 361,250 trees in one year, electricity for 10,840 UK homes, or emissions from a mid-size car over 23.8m miles.
The savings were made through various means, including re-using existing structures instead of building new ones or introducing hybrid generators to save fuel. This includes over 4,800tCO2e saved through low carbon Electric Arc Furnace steel products.
Data captured for the Electric Arc Furnace products showed that it is important for a company to record their own data and engage with its supply chain, as opposed to using industry average data.
The results show promise for the future
Galliford Try’s carbon initiative will continue into 2025 as the company now intends to spread the focus to other projects under the business.
Galliford Try recently published their Net Zero Route Map in September, in which they lay out their intended plans to reach net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, with Scope 3 net zero being reached by 2045.
The One in a Million programme is a part of this route map, and aims for the company’s Science Based Targets initiative.
Poppy Parsons, head of low carbon construction at Galliford Try, said: “These savings are a testament to the ingenuity and drive of Galliford Try’s project teams to look for carbon saving opportunities and do the right thing, and demonstrates the size of the impact we as individuals in the construction industry can make.”
A recent BSRIA research report shows that the industry’s average understanding of retrofitting is too low to reach the nation’s decarbonisation targets. They found this information through surveying 500 construction professionals, with it being found that one-in-four also doubt that retrofit technologies will last more than 20 years.
This is an example of the level of work needed in order to decarbonise the built environment, with the industry needing to innovate and improve carbon-reduction methods, knowledge, and technologies rapidly to meet targets.
