The need for a smaller carbon footprint

As a group, Fox Group are actively trying to achieve a more sustainable future, but what steps can be taken? Ell Astley, Marketing Executive at Fox Group discusses. 

Sustainability, carbon reduction, net zero emissions. All terms which are prevalent within today’s society, with many businesses trying to become more sustainable, but what does the term really mean?

Research suggests that sustainability can be split into three core elements: economic, environmental, and social. Further research suggests that there are in fact seven elements to sustainability, those being: Infrastructure Imperatives, Carbon Management, Green Energy, Circular Economy, Environment Conservation, Water conservation, and Energy Efficiency. When asking why sustainability is important, the answer really is simple; to improve our quality of life and to protect our planet. Governments targets and a large focus on sustainability has also prompted many businesses to look into ways that they can be more sustainable, not to mention tenders changing to include an organisations social values.

So how can an organisation become more sustainable?

Take Fox Group for example. Last June, we had the UK’s first electric tipper wagons delivered, to be based out of our Leyland depot, mainly working on local jobs and council tenders. However, it does not take something quite that substantial to improve your sustainability initiatives, it could simply be changing your office lights to LED, or ensuring that you have recycling boxes within your workplace. Moreover, staff could car share, or look into hybrid or electric vehicles, as opposed to diesel vehicles, maybe trains for long journeys could be a better option.

Whatever the organisation chooses must be right for them, and even if they are just small changes, these could make a large difference if every business did them.

As a company supplying haulage, it would be impossible for our whole fleet to be electrified, as there is just not the capacity to charge a 350+ wagon fleet. But, we have made a conscious effort to evaluate each journey of aggregates or muck, in order to make it the most efficient and sustainable journey it can be, and improve our carbon reduction. 2023 was the year that Fox Group became intermodal, utilising Fox Rail and Fox Maritime in order to reduce the amount of carbon emissions generated by the fleet.

Utilising rail and ships allows us to cover further distances, whilst also reducing our emissions. Due to the capacity of rail and marine, we can also transport more aggregates whilst achieving those same sustainable results. For example, 1800 tonnes (t) of aggregates via road releases 8t CO2e, but a further journey via rail releases just 3t CO2e, showing how much of a reduction can be made when evaluated.

So, how are you going to start your sustainability journey?