Environment Awards: Climate Change Award Winner: NG Bailey

At first glance, the temporary cabins which spring up on building sites might not seem the obvious place to be blazing a green trail – but when you consider just how many of these cabins are in operation around the country at any one time, and just how energy-inefficient they are, suddenly it starts to make a little more sense.

After months of research and development, NG Bailey last year introduced a fleet of cabins designed specifically with the environment in mind.

“The standard of these cabins in the past has always been very low,” explained NG Bailey’s sustainability manager, Colin Robertson. “They’ve never been considered with energy in mind.

“But there are tremendous number of cabins with people working in them on-site at all times up and down the country. The opportunity for improvement was therefore very significant.”

Many of the innovations introduced by NG Bailey are fairly straightforward – yet it is these types of simple changes which can make a world of difference when delivered on a large scale.

Better insulation is used in the ceilings and walls of the new cabins. Hinge-closers and draught excluders are fitted to all doors.

Each cabin is fitted with “intelligent” lighting and heating controls, which react to occupancy and levels of natural light. Energy-efficient heaters are fitted throughout.

Their exteriors are painted white – rather than the usual NG Bailey corporate blue – to reflect the sun in the summer and keep cabins cooler.

The cabins are even fitted with energy meters, so electricity use can be monitored by on-site staff.

“These are simple things to do, but added together it all makes a difference,” Mr Robertson said.

The figures speak for themselves – each NG Bailey cabin is around 40 per cent more energy-efficient than the traditional kind.

It is this level of effectiveness which has seen the firm collect this year’s Climate Change award, which is sponsored by InterfaceFLOR.

“A 40 per cent reduction is hugely significant,” Mr Robertson said. “When you’re starting from a low base, these are the sorts of figures which can be achieved.”

All the carbon-reduction techniques have been developed with the assistance of workers on-site – a crucial element in ensuring the measures are a success.

“We’ve used dedicated feedback from the guys on-site about what works and what doesn’t,” Mr Robertson said. “There’s always a difference between what you think will be effective when you’re drawing ideas up, and what actually works in practice.”

As the construction industry sets ever-more challenging targets for reducing carbon emissions, Mr Robertson is confident NG Bailey will come increasingly to the fore. “We definitely are one of the leaders in this area,” he said.