Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Gray & Adams, temperature-controlled commercial vehicle trailer and bodywork builder has graduated from Carbon Trust Scotland’s prestigious Carbon Management Programme.
Gray & Adams’ achievement was recognised at a ceremony in Edinburgh by John Swinney MSP, cabinet secretary for finance, employment and sustainable growth.
Carbon busters... Gray & Adams production director James Gray, (centre) received the Carbon Trust Scotland graduation certificate from John Swinney, (right), MSP and Paul Wedgwood, general manager, Carbon Trust Scotland
It relates to a structured plan of action for a series of carbon-busting measures introduced at Gray & Adams’ production facility on the Lyneburn Industrial Estate in Dunfermline. However, the company has also instigated efficiency initiatives at its other factories in Fraserburgh, Newtownabbey, Doncaster and Bedford, and its environmental practices and procedures have been rubber-stamped by some of the biggest and most demanding transport operators in Britain.
Gray & Adams production director James Gray says: “We recognise the importance of managing our carbon footprint in order to keep our business sustainable as well as profitable, and to maintain Gray & Adams’ reputation for quality and responsibility in responding to the needs of our customers, our community and the environment.”
The Carbon Management Programme is designed to help organisations develop a targeted framework to deliver energy-saving and carbon-reduction practices. This is achieved by establishing their current baseline CO2 emissions, assessing the business risks and opportunities posed by climate change, and developing a robust strategy to reduce their carbon footprints and save money on their energy bills over a five- to ten-year period.
The programme aims to improve the management of energy use in buildings and processes, vehicle fleets, lighting and the recycling of waste, and provides opportunities for participants to share best practice and learn from each other’s experiences.
Gray & Adams (Dunfermline) achieved ISO 14001, the international environmental management standard in 2010 and set the goal of becoming a carbon neutral operation. In 2011 the factory’s previous lighting system was replaced with low energy lighting to reduce electricity consumption. And this year waste management arrangements have been changed, so that 80% of waste produced at the facility is now recycled.
The Carbon Trust certificate recognises a raft of additional measures designed to reduce further the facility’s carbon footprint, which are now being implemented through a five-year plan.
Andrew Nairn, quality health and safety manager, Gray & Adams, Dunfermline, says: “The Carbon Management Programme was engaging, interesting and worthwhile. As a result we have improved our carbon footprint, reduced our costs and assured our current and prospective customers that we are serious partners in helping them to achieve their environmental management goals.”
The Carbon Management Programme was launched in 2003 but initially worked solely with the public sector – it 2011/12 it helped public bodies to reduce their CO2 emissions by more than 132,000 tonnes, while cutting their combined energy bills by £53 million. Gray & Adams is one of the first 20 private businesses to benefit from the scheme.
Paul Wedgwood, general manager, Carbon Trust Scotland, said: “We’re really pleased to see private sector organisations like Gray & Adams coming on board, recognising the need to take energy efficiency action, and implementing measures which reduce their carbon emissions and, in turn, improve their economic performance.”
