As a ‘CO2nstruct Zero’ Business Champion and a leading British manufacturer, Naylor Industries is committed to reducing our environmental impact.  In our latest blog, Alex Farrer, Group HSE Officer explains how Naylor Industries’ aim to be a ‘net zero’ business by 2050.

Never before has there been as much focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the delivery of net zero – achieving an overall balance of net zero greenhouse gas emissions in an organisation’s operations.  At Naylor Industries’ we care deeply about the environment and are continually striving to improve our environmental performance by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, minimising waste, increasing energy efficiency, using resources wisely and switching to more sustainable sources of energy.

Our Net Zero Strategy is a fundamental part of our overall business strategy and focusses on the six core areas of organisational commitment, quantification, targeting and implementation, monitoring, reporting and continual improvement.

1. Organisational commitment. Every Director of Naylor Industries Plc has made a commitment to delivering net zero and has signed a pledge to implement specific principles that require them to: consider net zero when recruiting senior personnel; choose renewable, greener energy sources and whenever possible eliminate the use of fossil fuels; give consideration to energy efficiencies when reviewing property and also with the acquisition of new assets and maintenance requirements; ensure environmental training is delivered to employees, and to provide support to our environment, health and safety team as they continue to drive Naylor Industries’ journey to net zero.

2. Quantification of greenhouse gas emissions. At Naylor Industries we are committed to annually measuring our carbon footprint and identifying the key areas for improvement. Our quantification process covers every Naylor Industries’ site and, reflecting our commitment to accountability, the results of our quantification process will be available externally as well as internally.   Importantly, the process will be undertaken by an independent, external consultancy which will determine our annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. We are also committed to producing Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) reports on a four-year basis.
3. Targeting and implementation. The key to the delivery of any greenhouse gas reduction target is action. Our actions will be informed by our annual evaluation and reporting process, backed by significant investments when required. As a long-standing industry innovator, we will strive to develop new ways to reduce the carbon footprint of our products and operations as well as adopting proven technologies.
4. Monitoring. In addition to annual evaluations, ongoing monitoring and performance evaluation is now being conducted across every part of our business.  This ensures that we can make continuous improvements to our environmental performance and ensure that the changes being made continue to deliver the required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions whilst remaining financially viable.
5. At Naylor Industries we have a long-standing track record in continuous improvement and the development of industry innovations.  A core part of this is the ability to not only record and note our successes but also to record and learn from our failures.  In the next few weeks, our ‘Net Zero Annual Report’ will to be launched.  The report details what has been implemented and achieved across each part of our business, which projects have been successful and which have not.  We intend to share this knowledge with other companies to help accelerate the achievement of net zero by UK manufacturing industry.
6. Continual improvement. Our process of measurement and evaluation will enable us to make ongoing and continuous improvements which will reduce greenhouse gases, improve the products and service we provide to our customers, and help improve our financial performance.  By sharing what we learn, we also hope to inform improvements across the industry.

By following the principles outlined above our business has already made some significant changes.  Underlining the importance we place on the delivery of net zero, we have recently recruited a dedicated Product Sustainability Engineer, Tevin McPherson, who will focus solely on establishing if and where we can change our product designs to minimise waste and reduce our use of raw materials.  While at our Cawthorne plant, we have recently made a significant investment in the commission and installation of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant which enables the site to generate its own electricity and which, ultimately, may be converted to run on hydrogen.

If you would like to learn more about our activities and to join us on the journey to net zero, please visit our NetZero page.  This year’s report will be available from mid-June.