Birse Civils

Case study taken from Envirolink Northwest Procurement Report Phase 2 2007-08. For more information please visit www.envirolinknorthwest.co.uk.

Birse Civils was the first civil engineering company to join the Buy Recylced Code from Envirolink Northwest. It is consistently proactive in search of continuous improvement relating to its own sustainability and to meet the exacting environmental demands of clients.

In 2007-08, Birse Civils spent over £2 million on recycled materials. In doing so, they saved 4,121 tonnes of CO2 , and 2,128,920 tonnes of waste were diverted from landfill through procurement. This generated cost savings of £5,322,300.

Birse Civils' committment to sustainable procurement has helped them to win numerous awards including the Considerate Constructors Scheme's 'Most Considerate Site Award 2008' for the Beswick Regeneration scheme in Manchester.

One of their most recent projects was the Eaves Green Link road. This scheme for Lancashire County Council, which won Builder and Engineer magazine's 'Civil Engineering Project of the Year 2008', involved the construction of 1.45km of single carriageway and a cycle lane in Chorley. This resulted in:

81% of construction work carried out by local companies
The scheme finished 15 weeks early
A considerate constructors scheme audit score of 99%
6000 wagon journeys removed from local roads
CO2 emissions reduced by 98%; and
Over 84% of construction materials by value contained recycled elements.

For more information visit the Birse Civils website