At About Roofing Supplies between our four branches and our website at aboutroofing.com, we receive and deliver literally tens of thousands of tons of roofing materials every year - in fact we estimate that on an average day we deliver over 200 tons of roof tiles alone!
We are concious that we have an impact on the environment - the production of concrete (from which many roof tiles are made) is the largest single emitter of CO2 globally, roof tile manufacturing is the largest industrial user of gas to fire the tiles in kilns, and of course the delivery lorries running to and from our depots emit exhaust fumes. Add onto that cardboard and plastic packaging, and our enviromental footprint is significant.
We have been taking steps for a number of years to mitigate our impact wherever possible, and this post will update you about the steps that we are taking.
Our Lorries:
We operate a large fleet of HGVs which are replaced every three years or sooner. All of our current fleet are Euro 6 compliant which is the highest standard that ICE vehicles can be currently manufactured to meet. The Euro 6 standard ensures that the gases leaving the exhaust are actually cleaner than the air being drawn into the engine!
We currently have one electric van, with another on order which we use for smaller deliveries.
Once technology gets to a point that we can replace our fleet of ICE HGVs with either electric or Hydrogen alternatives we will look to do so.
Our Cars:
We are progressively upgrading our company car fleet to being a completely electric fleet: five of our seven Managers now have Kia Niro Electric cars, with the other two Managers transitioning to electric cars from low emission hybrids shortly. One of our three Directors is currently driving an electric Jaguar, another has a BMW Petrol - Electric ultra low emission hybrid car, whilst the third is moving to a electric car shortly.
Charging points:
We have electric charging points at all four of our branches and we encourage all staff who have electric vehicles to use them, so that our impact when commuting to and from work is reduced as much as possible.
Solar power:
We have a large solar array on the roof of our Redhill branch which can, on a sunny day, generate more power than the entire branch uses, but can also store the excess energy ready for use overnight!
Even on a cloudy day, the solar panels genrate significant amounts of electricity which help to reduce our reliance on the national grid.
Cardboard:
We generate waste cardboard from boxed products and packaging, which we compress into bales, and is then collected for recycling by a third party recycling company.
Plastic:
At any one time we have hundreds of pallets in stock, or on the backs of lorries going out for delivery - each pallet is wrapped in plastic, which can't be reused once the pallet has been opened.
We recycle this plastic, which we then pay a specialist recycling contractor to take away, sort and recycle responsibly.
Our commitment to recycling even extends to small details, such as drinks machines! Every day our customers enjoy free tea, coffee and hot chocolate from machines in our branches. Each drink was supplied in a single use plastic cup which was then thrown away.
We have recently replaced these machines with new drinks machines that do not use single use cups.
Food packaging:
We have kitchens in our branches where our staff can make themselves hot drinks, cook food etc - just like at home, these activities generate packaging, however unlike at home, local authorities do not have schemes in place to collect and recycle this waste when it is generated commercially. Our solution? Rather than simply throwing it away, our staff members simply take it home and add it to their domestic recycling.
Pallets:
Roof tiles & slates are supplied to us on pallets by the manufacturers, many of which we reuse for delivering to our customers.
However, we are not always able to reuse these pallets as not all types of pallets are suitable for delivery by the cranes fiitted to our lorries, so these are either returned to the manufacturers for reuse by them or passed onto a pallet recycling company for reuse in other industries.
Paper:
We shred reports and paperwork generated internlly which we then use as packaging for our online orders. We have invested in a military grade shredder so that we can not only comply with Data Protection & GDPR regulations, it also means that the shredded paper generated can then be recycled as packaging with absolutely no chance of any confidential data being shared.
Bubble Wrap:
We use bubble wrap for packaging many of our internet orders, and have recently sourced, and are now using, bubble wrap manufactured from recycled materials.
Pricing & availability of roofing and building materials
To discuss pricing and the availability of roofing materials, please call us on 01737 763008 or email us here.
Where can I find roofing materials near me?
You can view and order roofing products in any of our branches listed below or we can deliver nationwide: