21 March 2014
Portakabin Wins 4th Award for its Commitment to the Environment and Sustainability
Portakabin, the UK's leading modular building manufacturer, has received the Think Green Business of the Year accolade at the Press Business Awards in recognition of its commitment to the environment and sustainability.
The Press Business Awards are in their 23rd year and celebrate the achievements of businesses across York, North and East Yorkshire. The Think Green Business of the Year category is open to businesses which consciously strive to improve the environment. The judges based their decision on a number of aspects including how Portakabin had raised environmental awareness in its workforce, what challenges it had overcome to become greener and ways in which the local community had been enhanced or protected.
This latest award follows a string of sustainability successes for the company in the last year and the judges said there was an excellent story to tell about the cultural shift that Portakabin had accomplished. The company's previous achievements include a Zero Waste Gold Award, a Zero Waste Platinum Award and a further Gold Award in the Business in the Community Environment Index.
Derek Carter, Chief Executive of the Portakabin Group, said, "This is very welcome recognition for our energy-saving and environmental programmes. Our sustainable initiatives require a team effort from everyone across the business and together we have made tremendous progress over the last few years in the area of recycling and waste management."
"As a Group, we have invested heavily in our commitment to the environment and we also support our customers' sustainability objectives by providing them with modular building solutions designed to reduce waste, energy, carbon emissions and conserve natural resources. We are proud of what we have accomplished so far and will continue to find new ways to further improve our environmental performance."
Portakabin achieved the Think Green Business of the Year award for its many recycling initiatives, including:
- Succeeding in its objective of zero waste to landfill at its manufacturing centre in York a year ahead of its 2013 target
- A Waste Management Committee which meets bimonthly to discuss all aspects of waste reduction and encourage every part of the business to continually improve
- Plasterboard off-cuts re-used as soil conditioner
- Cooking oil waste to fuel food delivery vehicles
- Increasing awareness among staff of the importance of recycling and waste minimisation, and the use of 'tool box talks' to encourage new ideas; internal newsletters; monthly staff briefings; and training to instil the discipline to recycle
- Actively encouraging and celebrating success and good work in environmental waste management among employees
- Introducing a number of initiatives to improve the sustainability of its food service at its York site including the use of an electric catering van for hospitality deliveries around the 60-acre site
- The recovery of extracted air from the wood working unit and its re-use for heating
- Collecting and bagging sawdust and chippings for direct re-use as animal bedding and chipboard production
- Using new materials in the manufacture of Portakabin buildings that have a recycled content of 35 per cent.
Portakabin has the resources to deliver both bespoke projects and standardised accommodation solutions to organisations in public and private sectors, in the most challenging timescales, with less disruption, as well as less impact on the environment.
Applications for Portakabin modular solutions are diverse and include open plan office accommodation, security buildings, canteens, training suites, showers and changing rooms, health clinics and ward buildings, teaching blocks and even complete schools, for both interim and permanent applications.
For further information about modular buildings for permanent and interim applications, visit www.portanews.co.uk, email information@portakabin.co.uk or call 0845 401 0010.
Editor's Notes
1. The Portakabin Group offers a series of market-leading modular brands which includes:
- Portakabin modular buildings for permanent and interim use
- Yorkon off-site design and build solutions
- Portaloo toilet, shower and changing room facilities
- Konstructa site accommodation hire
- Foremans Relocatable Building Systems supplying highly sustainable refurbished Portakabin buildings
- Oecon Mobilraum GmbH - a manufacturer and distributor of modular buildings in Germany.
2. Portakabin, Portakabin Group, Yorkon, Foremans, Portaloo, Konstructa and Oecon are registered trademarks.
3. The Portakabin Group is part of the Shepherd Group.
