3 minutes read 15 Dec 2023As stakeholders and investors continue to gravitate towards a strong environmental conscience, there is an increasing demand in the aggregate and quarrying sector to advance sustainability priorities.
While this inevitably entails new ways of working and investment, Ross Hayward, Head of Assets and Commercial says it can also pay dividends in the long run – helping to increase profitability, secure a competitive edge and futureproof our business.
In a content series about emerging technology, we explore the major changes coming to the sector and how businesses can help take on both challenges and play a lead role in making the Government’s ambitious net zero targets for 2050 happen.
However, in an industry already tasked with tight deadlines, limited budgets and an unsettling economic landscape, the question begs – where to begin for those seeking to take sustainability one step further?
Here, Ross sheds insight on how 2027-28 should see an influx of new green technologies, and how it will serve as an inflection point for making sustainable practices commonplace.
“At the moment, the availability of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles is very much limited. However, by 2027, it’s expected this offering will expand to include many categories of equipment,” he says. “If companies start investing in new technology in 2027, it will stand them in good stead.”
Sustainability is, of course, nothing new. For years now, amid the escalating impacts of climate change, consumers and stakeholders alike have been well acquainted with the notion of making environmentally and socially apt choices.
In recent years, Chepstow reduced idling time by 10%, completed it’s transition for its non-commercial fleet across to electric vehicles and completed one of the largest Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel trials for the aggregates and minerals sector in Europe.
READ MORE: Five ways Chepstow Plant made progress towards net zero
However, it is only more recently that sustainable solutions have come into much sharper focus. At Chepstow, we firmly believe that continual investment in emerging technology can significantly reduce the industry’s environmental impact. The current problem, however, is that not enough businesses are making the switch to ‘green’ energy due to rising costs, and as a result, it is down to customers to take a much more active role in supporting the formidable path to net zero. This means, customers need to flip the narrative and look beyond upfront costs in favour of their environmental responsibility, thus forcing the hands of other firms.
Yet, rising costs and inflation aren’t the only challenges. Ross says it is the responsibility of manufacturers to live up to their claims and deliver the sustainable, yet practical solutions they initially promised.
“On top of that, businesses will be under pressure to maintain the same level of operational output whilst trying to meet environmental targets. When there’s a big change in technology, disruption is inevitable, so forward planning is essential. For example, sites will need to get accustomed to longer refuelling times rather than the 10 minutes they’re currently used to.”
The concern is that if operational output drops as new technology is introduced, clients may be inclined to switch back to traditional, fossil-fuel-powered technology. To overcome this, businesses at all levels must make a conscious effort to advocate for greater sustainability. Because while sustainability has been high on the agenda for years, that doesn’t necessarily mean all layers of a business will have a full grasp on the latest developments, and more importantly, how it could benefit their business.
“There’s got to be an understanding from both suppliers and customers that there are going to be initial ‘teething’ problems for early adopters. Conversely, if businesses wait until 2030 0r 2035, when the technology is more established, they could fall by the wayside,” comments Ross.
In other words, those that are yet to consider alternative technology will feel the effect come 2030, when initial performance and environmental targets are due to be met. As such, it is those firms that go the extra green mile that will win the race.
As part of this blog series, we explore the key considerations that will feed into sustainable solutions and their uptake, from finance and investment to training and upskilling. For the industry’s pioneers, this will help in understanding how the latest technology breakthroughs will help transform the future of aggregation and quarrying.
By Ross Hayward
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