OUR CARBON REDUCTION JOURNEY
In 2024, we undertook an initial snapshot carbon assessment across the business in order to identify key “hotspots” of carbon production within the organisation. This snapshot revealed several key areas in which it was obvious improvements must be made:
We immediately took action and initiated a policy to replace all owned, and later leased, company vehicles with electric models as they reached the end of their three-year operating life. In addition to this, we installed 4no. chargers at our office and provided staff members with free charging to encourage them to swap private vehicles to electric. This has helped remove a total of 40tons of CO2 in commuting emissions from our organisation.
We have also striven to decarbonise our waste streams and reduce waste going to landfill. We have eliminated the use of single-use plastic tubs for our Thermal Binder and recycled 50% more waste than in the year prior to the snapshot assessment. In addition, we have worked hard with our suppliers to organise more efficient deliveries for bagged tarmacadam, resulting in a reduction in site deliveries of 10% (despite a 40% increase in tonnage of material delivered.)
We had already removed gas as a heat source from our head office, but we also installed a 40kW solar array to the building and moved to a green energy tariff for the remainder of our electricity needs. Totally removing fossil fuel electricity for our largest and busiest base of operations.
Whilst we are proud of our work so far, we are ever conscious that there is more to do. That is why in 2026, we have conducted a much more in-depth carbon assessment across the entire business, with a view to publishing a total carbon reduction policy before the end of the year.
The practical steps needn’t wait for the paperwork, though. We have begun initial work on funding a battery system and expansion of our existing solar array. We have also started to prototype modifications to our systems. These include integrating solar panels to feed the 12v system onboard all our Mk3 thermal vans and moving to a 3-cylinder auxiliary engine for our larger Jetpatchers.
Most excitingly, with the launch of the 1.5 cube 1000 series Jetpatcher, the possibility to shift the system onto a fully electric truck and auxiliary engine is within reach. This would not only reduce carbon but also maintenance costs, creating savings we can pass onto our clients.
Whatever the future of decarbonisation holds, Nu-Phalt Contracting strives to be leading the way in reducing the environmental impact of highways maintenance and surface patching.