www.bfpa.co.uk 71 more sustainable by adopting premium green contracts, purchasing greener electricity from renewable sources. We have the same policy regarding gas, although greener gas contracts are currently harder to come by. Greater efficiency in the warehouse We have invested in more efficient fast acting roller doors for our warehouse in Aberdeen, which are proving to be huge energy savers. Aberdeen is not the warmest place and we used to spend a lot of money heating the premises in Winter only to lose much of the heat every time we raised a manual roller door in the warehouse to receive deliveries every half an hour or so. Because of this issue, we invested approximately £20,000 in fastacting, lightweight roller doors. This has already proved to be a sound investment, achieving a payback within only 12 months. Also from an energy reduction perspective, we have changed all our lighting to LED in the workshop. These lights are not only cheaper, but they also provide a better, clearer light for our workforce. The LED lights also last about 10 times longer than standard filament tubes and they don’t need as much maintenance. This again is proving to be a cost saver for us, while being kinder to the environment. More sustainable supply chain Hydrasun is working through a programme of removing single use plastics from the organisation and is currently transitioning from using plastic end caps on its hoses to recyclable heatsealed thread end covers at the Aberdeen site, and there are plans to do the same at its other branches. This also means we don’t need to store thousands of different sizes of cap. We just apply and then heat seal the end covers at the end of assembly to protect the threads. Hydrasun is in the process of removing bubble wrap from its packaging material. Instead, the company uses shredded waste cardboard for packaging our products. The company also recycles end fittings on some of the hose materials. From a supply chain sustainability perspective, there has been some good work done. However, we still have work to do. Hydrasun Aviemore is the second largest supplier to Hydrasun for components, fittings and valves etc. Certainly, for our standard range of products, all the raw materials used in manufacture have been re-sourced from our supply chain and are made from 100% recycled materials. That’s a great place to be. In fact, we recently commissioned a university graduate to conduct a waste study for us in Aviemore, and his report is a fantastic testament to the sustainability work we’re doing within our supply chain. In terms of hose materials, some of the hose manufacturers we source from are looking at how they can adopt a more sustainable supply chain. Some of them are now using rubber from recycled sugarcane, while others are looking at other ways to bring carbon neutral hose to market. So, products like this are available but not as widely known about as they could be. This is all in the early stages, but more a more hose manufacturers are looking at how they can source more sustainable raw materials and move away from being part of such a high carbon-intensive industry. EVs Hydrasun will soon be moving to electric vehicles for some of our fleets. This isn’t an option for our HGVs currently because EV HGVs currently don’t have the drive strength we need – or if they do have this strength the price is prohibitive. Also, we have found it difficult to lease EVs for both our local and overseas fleets. Many suppliers want customers to buy them outright. I believe this might be because when they are out of warranty five or six years down the line, aftermarket issues can be an unchartered minefield. Nevertheless, we will be monitoring the progress over the coming months and years. We want to be supportive of this technology, but we need to remain realistic. Hydrogen Much of the sustainability work Hydrasun is currently pursuing is in hydrogen and in particular the mobility sector. Hydrasun are now part of the D2Zero group, which comprises several separate companies, involving around 4000 employees, with all having a sustainability focus. Indeed, Hydrasun has been involved in the hydrogen mobility market for 7 years, working on over 40 projects within the UK and overseas. Our Hydrogen division is now working closely with industry to support the hydrogen infrastructure through the engineering design, manufacturing, commissioning, testing and operations and maintenance of hydrogen systems. Hydrasun is currently working on hydrogen systems integration projects all over the UK and Europe. So, we recognise that hydrogen is very much the fuel of the future. Currently, it’s in its early stages but Aberdeen has had a hydrogen production and dispensing facility for about 9 years, with buses and other fleets running off that fuel supply. So, there are success stories that are already out there. Hydrogen technology is here and is improving all the time. However, currently it’s a classic chicken and egg situation. You need to invest in the technology to produce hydrogen, and if you don’t have hydrogen there’s no supply for the end users. No one’s buying a large amount of hydrogen vehicles at the moment because there still aren’t enough hydrogen production and dispensing hubs. Things are moving in the right direction, however, with Aberdeen City Council and BP forming a joint venture to deliver a scalable, green hydrogen production, storage and distribution hub. If projects like this are successful, the hydrogen vehicle market should take off a little like the EV market took off six years or so ago. I recently visited the Toyota site in Derby and got to see first-hand how the hydrogen fuel cell has evolved and how the technology is being utilised in a number of applications – from cars to pallet trucks, from forklifts to buses. So, I believe it’s really just a matter of time before hydrogen becomes more mainstream.
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