From an economic point of view there is a good case for describing industrial buildings as sustainable. They are often built with long-term occupation in mind and introduce efficiencies which can help reduce lorry journeys and support economic growth.
On the downside, however, they need large amounts of building materials in their construction, use up energy resources during their lives and, depending on their function, may emit pollution.
Many developers and occupiers are keen to tackle these issues and are being driven to do so both by their own corporate social responsibility commitments and by legislation, such as the new building regulations which were introduced in April and aim to increase energy efficiency by 20%.
Another impetus is the “Merton rule” being adopted by many local authorities, which stipulates that new buildings should use onsite renewable energy to reduce CO2 emissions by 10%.
Here, leading developers and occupiers outline their efforts to improve sustainability.
Julius Brinkworth, energy manager, Sainsbury’s
In new distribution centres, we are installing ammonia refrigeration systems which do not use ozone-depleting gases or gases that contribute to climate change. We realise the impact that our refrigeration systems have on global warming. For this reason, we have put considerable effort over the past couple of years into redesigning maintenance contracts as well as energy efficiency projects, to minimise the amount of refrigerant used to maintain our systems.
We recognise the need to minimise environmental impact – global warming and local air pollution – associated with our transport fleet. We can do this by improving the efficiency of our distribution systems and by improving engine efficiency.
Andrew Griffiths, deputy managing director, ProLogis
ProLogis is concerned to address sustainable development through its social, economic and environmental dimensions. We want to consider how we can reduce CO2 emissions and natural resource depletion through all aspects of our development activity.
We have, for some time, undertaken sustainable development activities in our operations around the globe and when we were selected by Advantage West Midlands to develop a sustainable distribution scheme at Sideway, Stoke-on-Trent, we decided to assemble a test-bed project, taking the best practice initiatives from around the world.
Stephen Bailey, regional director, Slough Trading Estate
On the Slough Trading Estate, we operate our own power station which uses renewable biomass fuels such as woodchips and saplings, as well as fibre fuel made from non-recyclable waste. This produces electricity, hot water and steam for our occupiers. We have our own water supply from seven boreholes, and operate an integrated transport bus service on the estate, in conjunction with the local authority.
Our buildings are intended to last 30-40 years and, because we have such diversity of occupiers, we are able to accommodate changing needs by moving companies from building to building. We use BRE’s SMARTStart auditing tool to ensure we produce minimum waste in the construction process.
Laura Bolton, corporate responsibility manager, DHL Logistics
We have put a lot of effort into collecting data across all our sites so we can measure emissions, energy use, waste production, and our record with recycling. We offer a green portfolio to our customers, which may mean using alternative energies in the warehouse in one location or alternative fuels for the vehicles in another. This is about more than operating legally. There needs to be a real drive towards improving standards of energy management.
Jonathan Fenton-Jones, commercial director, Gazeley
We started a major push towards environmental sustainability in late 2002 and early 2003, resulting in our EcoTemplate initiative. This led to development of a specific building in Bedford, now occupied by Woolworths, and gave us a roadmap of what we could do in the future.
We now include 11 EcoTemplate elements in all our developments at no extra cost to the customer, including photovoltaic panels, roof lighting, rainwater collection and the use of recycled materials in the construction process. We can include further measures if requested by customers. Exactly what we do varies slightly across Europe. For example, storm water collection is not the norm in the UK, but is expected as standard elsewhere.
Neil Burns, group operations director, Peacocks
Our warehouses are modern and have been built with energy conservation in mind, through better insulation and better lighting. However, we currently have an initiative across all our stores and warehouses to reduce our consumption significantly.
This is being driven by an increase in energy costs caused by the rises in gas and electricity prices. It draws together people from all over the business and may result in a “switch it off”-type campaign or investment in motion sensors to turn lights on and off. We are being environmentally proper about the issue but improving our bottom line as well.
Charlie Withers, leasing and marketing director, Chancerygate
We undertook the first development under the Merton rule at a small-unit scheme in Mitcham, south London. Using renewable energy currently adds to construction costs, which the developer has to absorb without any premium that can be attached. I think that will change over the next 10 years as people’s perceptions about the environment change, and such issues will rise higher up their list of required criteria in a property.
Amanda Squires, director of safety, health, environment and quality, logistics firm Gist
We look for measures that have a positive environmental impact and lead to operational efficiencies as well. We run Woolworths’ distribution centre in Bedford and have found the renewable energy sources there are capable of providing enough power for all external and most internal lighting.
I believe that most companies are becoming aware that taking environmental responsibilities more seriously makes sound commercial sense. There are things you can do, even in an existing property, like switching to passive infra-red lighting, which can save a lot of money.
