2024 has been the year of Atlas Copco Compressors UK & Ireland’s Green Journey: an employee-led project to challenge behaviour, both in and out of the workplace, to act in a way that reduces environmental impact and helps our customers reduce their CO2 emissions. This local commitment also supports Atlas Copco Group’s global Science Based Targets.
A group of volunteers within our UK & Ireland Compressors business called the Green Team has developed a range of activities and policies that the wider company can follow to reduce Atlas Copco UK’s carbon footprint. The brief was that policies and initiatives must be lasting, with tangible benefits, that can be woven seamlessly into our working lives. A virtual event for all employees was held in March to kick off the strategy, with many making their own personal pledges to reduce climate impact.
Let’s recap what has been achieved in the year.
- Following a suggestion from an employee, we set up a Green Fund, with a sum of money allocated to a local project that reduces climate change impact, conserves natural resources, and benefits wildlife. The winning project will see beehives set up at designated locations to encourage biodiversity. More information will follow about this exciting project in the Spring.
- We started an initiative to plant a tree for every Net Promoter Survey response received back from a customer. Restoring forests encourages healthy ecosystems, replenishes soil and reduces flooding. So far, we have had 268 trees planted in association with MoreTrees, which will lead to 394.7 tonnes of CO2 being captured in the future.
- The SmartVisit was launched. This means that we can carry out part of an AIRchitect energy audit process via remote software, reducing the number of visits and mileage to a customer site. A SmartVisit saves on average 23kg of CO2 emissions per audit. The AIRchitect audit itself quantifies the amount of potential CO2 and financial savings that the compressed air user could make by following recommendations shared within the resultant report.
- Our QSHE team has enabled an easy way of reporting environmental observations. Now any employee who spots an example of excess packaging, incorrect waste disposal or other unsustainable practices, whether on our own premises or at a customer site, is able to highlight it and give the opportunity for it to be investigated and rectified.
- With a team of over 150 field service engineers, a large opportunity exists for reducing our operation’s carbon footprint by replacing diesel service vans with electric ones. We have conducted extensive research, covering multiple vehicle options and incorporating both market reviews and the specific needs of our business. Additionally, we conducted a comprehensive survey among all our service engineers to assess the feasibility and acceptance of EV service vans. This diligent approach has led to us placing an order for our first electric service vans.
- We are proud that we have been recognised with two sustainability awards in 2024. Firstly, we were a finalist of the UK Green Business Awards’ Green Building Project of the Year award for our sustainably built new head office. Secondly, we were a runner-up in Atlas Copco Group’s Environmental Award 2024 for our commitment to reducing environmental impact through employee engagement and change management.
There are many more initiatives underway in different parts of the company to reduce climate impact, whether through better use of resources in our own operations, by reducing the energy consumed during the lifetime of the products which we sell, or through finding innovative ways for our technologies to be used in applications which contribute to a lower-carbon society.
