As efforts to cut carbon emissions step up a level, the construction industry is taking positive steps to reduce its impact on the environment, and not just within the house building sector; offices, schools and commercial projects are also being designed and built in new and innovative ways.

Amongst those spearheading this change is Morrison Construction, whose portfolio includes the largest infrastructure project in Scotland, the Queensferry Crossing; educational facilities including Largs Campus; East Lothian Community Hospital and other health projects; as well as leisure facilities including Inverclyde Sports & Accommodation Campus and commercial developments.

Eddie Robertson, Managing Director, Morrison Construction Building Central, whose remit covers central Scotland, says that there are two aspects to managing this change; one is that projects have energy efficiency embedded into the design and construction and the other is ensuring that Morrison Construction itself is operated along sound environmental principles so that it’s own carbon footprint is mitigated.

The Herald: Morrison Construction has been appointed main contractor in £1.9m project to build nursery in Blackridge (above)Morrison Construction has been appointed main contractor in £1.9m project to build nursery in Blackridge (above)

While this may sound like a challenge, ambitious targets are already being achieved after what, says Eddie, seemed to be a slow start.

“It did appear for a while that the construction industry was talking about carbon reduction and not pushing the agenda hard enough, but now things are different,” he says.

One major change that has been adopted by Morrison Construction to adopt a fabric first approach which looks at the materials employed in any project and works out how these can be made to perform in the most effective ways possible, whilst using technology to deliver buildings that achieve low-carbon ratings.

Eighteen months ago, Morrison Construction began to work with the Passivhaus Trust, along with a number of specialist designers, in order to fully understand the principles involved in creating buildings that used as little energy as possible. Meanwhile staff training is disseminating new knowledge throughout the company and its supply chain, and in a recent move, Morrison Construction signed a contract to deliver two identical nurseries for West Lothian Council, one of which is being built entirely on Passivhaus principals.

The Herald: Morrison Construction enable employees to have a direct involvement in shaping their career, providing a broad range of learning opportunities designed not only to improve technical skills but also interpersonal, problem-solving and decision-making skillsMorrison Construction enable employees to have a direct involvement in shaping their career, providing a broad range of learning opportunities designed not only to improve technical skills but also interpersonal, problem-solving and decision-making skills

It’s a very progressive approach and according to Eddie should prove influential for the industry.

“This will give us a direct comparison on costs, building methods and performance,” he says.

‘And it will also provide important information on the experience of staff and pupils. Starting two years ago, we now evaluate projects for ‘social value’, which looks at how they contribute to the wellbeing of users.”

In other projects, Morrison Construction is using design technology to examine and visualize  how space is being used, so that none is wasted.

“We don’t want to be building offices where meeting rooms are sitting empty for most of the time. All space has to be flexible and used to its maximum potential.”

Meanwhile within Morrison Construction itself a range of initiatives are encouraging employees to adopt low-carbon travel options and to use technology to facilitate meetings.

“We have a schemes such as cycle to work, which also support staff well being, and our fleet of electric vehicles including Teslas.”

In addition, the company’s graduate recruitment policy is fostering an ethos of technological ability and fresh thinking, while a guarantee to use a sizeable percentage of local labour on all projects has helped to reduce travel miles for contractors and is proving effective in transferring positive benefits of new build sites directly into the communities in which they are happening.

Starting two years ago, we now evaluate projects for ‘Social Value’, which looks at how they tailor and measure these positive socio and economic outcomes for communities.”

Much effort, says Eddie, has gone into evaluating all these measures, both on-site, during off-site processes and through staff initiatives, to see how they impact on the overall carbon output levels and legacy of the company.

“Some decisions, such as the use of cross laminate timber have proved to be a little more costly than other on-site solutions, but the performance may be better and on larger projects the percentage increase is not so great.”

By investing in staff, working closely with suppliers and customers and actively seeking out alternatives to traditional practices, Morrison Construction is helping to transform the image of an industry that many believe would be slow to adapt to the demands placed upon the sector by climate change.

For more information please visit www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk