Modular building specialist, Integra Buildings, has announced a £1 m programme of investment at its East Yorkshire site to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations.
Integra says it is aiming to drive down emissions at its headquarters in Paull, with the ambition of becoming a carbon-neutral business by 2038.
Integra manufactures a range of bespoke, high-quality modular buildings at the site, with a workforce of over 160 people, and a UK-wide client base spanning sectors including healthcare, sport, leisure, education, and commercial.
Key sustainability projects on site include installing of more than 70 rooftop solar panels on Integra’s office building, with a further 150 panels fitted to one of the factory units.
Integra has also reduced, by almost 20 per cent, the volume of waste leaving its site, thanks to a compactor, which cuts the number of lorry trips to the processing facility, and saves on carbon emissions.
Alongside infrastructure improvements, Integra continues to invest in its people, helping them gain new industry qualifications and accreditations around sustainability and environmental good practice. The business has also secured ISO 14001 Environmental Management accreditation.
Integra CEO, Gary Parker, said: “We’ve done a huge amount of work to firstly understand our carbon footprint, and then identify the priority areas and key actions we can take to become more sustainable. The work we’ve done on site so far has already had a positive impact, but we’re far from finished, and are committed to continuing to invest as a business in sustainability.”
The first phase of Integra’s solar installation saw 72 panels fitted on the roof of the office building, which are expected to reduce annual energy bills by over £80,000. Since then, an additional 150 have been fitted to the roof of one of the factory units. The two installations combined will generate close to 200,000 kW of clean electricity every year, the business says.
Previously, Integra’s waste was collected as one and taken by waste management business, Biffa, for processing off site. Today, waste is separated into three categories – timber, plastics and other recyclables. With the investment in a new £35,000 compactor, general waste is crushed to reduce the number of lorry trips required to take surplus materials off site. In its first month of operation, the compactor reduced general waste by 18 per cent compared with the same month the previous year.
Integra says all of the modular buildings it manufactures are ‘100 per cent reusable’, and can be relocated from site to site as required. Should they ever be disassembled, timber and steel products can be easily recycled.
The company also plans to integrate a rainwater capture system on site, with a variety of uses – including testing modular units to ensure they are watertight, and flushing toilets.
Pictured are MD, Chris Turner, and Gary Parker, inside one of Integra’s production factories.
