Sustainability Case Studies

Guardian News and Media

FOLLOWING THE CARBON FOOTPRINTS

Focus: Carbon footprint reduction and measurement

During the consolidation of four Guardian newspaper offices from locations across London into one building, Overbury's task at the new Guardian News and Media headquarters in King's Place, London; was to carry out the fit-out in a manner that minimised carbon emissions for a newspaper group with an environmentally conscious readership.

Moving all of the newspaper's operations to one location is a positive environmental step in itself, as it reduces travel and deliveries between disparate sites, minimises energy use and encourages an entire workforce to cooperate to reduce their waste.

ENVIRONMENTAL GUARDIANS

However, the work required to fit-out the new 13,656 sqm Guardian HQ, which includes 1,800 workstations, a 150 seat auditorium, and a multi-media hub that features seven state-of-the-art recording studios, was going to create a whole load of carbon emissions by itself. Overbury had to come up with a plan to both reduce and monitor the carbon footprint of the £18.75 million project down to the last tonne so that the client could assess the impact and off-set accordingly on completion. Project manager Carl Stowell-Smith says:

We were chosen for the project because the client was impressed by our environmental planning. We could back up our sustainability statements. The client called our approach the most 'environmentally honourable.' ”

SEVEN STEPS TO SUSTAINABLE HEAVEN

Stowell-Smith was confident of success because Overbury had a seven point environmental plan in which every aspect worked towards sustainability aims and the reduction of carbon emissions. Step one was the implementation of Overbury's ISO 14001 environmental management system. Stowell-Smith says:

All 1,100 site personnel, were inducted on topics including waste management, energy conservation, use of FSC certified timber and so on. It might seem excessive to some but getting everyone on side from the start is of paramount importance.”

Step two involved ensuring that there were no environmental incidents during the project and step three meant using only FSC certified timber on site. Stowell-Smith says:

Our joinery contractors are used to this and they know that we'll require documentation for every load that comes to site, it's a condition of them winning the sub-contract. However, other contractors, those that use timber purely for, say, protection or within composite products, needed to be brought up to speed with our environmental aspirations.”

Step four involved hitting a waste recycling target of 55%, and, of the 577.8 tonnes of waste generated, 321.1 tonnes was recycled. Registration with the Considerate Constructors Scheme and achieving over 30 points was step five.

We got 37 out of 40”, grins Stowell-Smith, “and a Silver National Award at the Considerate Constructors Awards!”

For step six, Overbury strived to use local labour and suppliers wherever possible. This can be a difficult aim to achieve as preferred suppliers are not always on your doorstep: the raised floors did come from Darlington, and the stone from Italy. However, in calculating distances travelled by all suppliers the average journey was just 17 miles. Meanwhile, in tallying up miles travelled by site operatives and their transport mode, 142,425 miles out of a total of 168,014 were on public transport, bicycle or foot.

Finally, step seven, the measurement of the carbon footprint for the fit-out works. This element embodies all of the aims in steps one to six. In a multi-stranded operation, Overbury calculated the carbon emissions associated with deliveries to site and every site operative's personal travel to site; it recorded all energy used - electricity, water and diesel; the embodied energy of all materials used was calculated from lists of volumes provided by all contractors; and all waste, both recycled and that sent to landfill was recorded. The result: carbon emissions for the project were calculated at just 895 tonnes. The client is now considering how to off-set them.

RECYCLED NEWSPAPER

Through the materials used and practices implemented in the fit-out, Overbury has helped create an inherent green building. Stowell-Smith says:

Our environmentally conscious working methods and comprehensive recording of the carbon emissions produced have given Guardian News and Media a completed project that they can be proud of, and one which will stand up to sustainable scrutiny by the press!”