Dedicated eco-friendly department for company

Dec 4 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

STAFF at a long-established construction company have pledged their support to the company’s own green campaign.

Employees at Newcastle-based Whelan Construction are backing the firm’s campaign to become green after it launched a dedicated environmental department to cater for the increasing green requirements in the construction industry.

The launch of the new department has already seen the company adopt green initiatives in its work, and now the firm has also vowed to introduce a new change in its office and site environments each month to further boost its eco credentials.

The environmental department, which is headed up by Chris Carr and Niki Swan, is introducing a number of gradual changes which all members of staff will adopt, including ensuring that all equipment is switched off and not left on stand-by, which prevents the waste of thousands of kilowatts of energy each year.

The company, set up in 1972, also has motion-activated lights in place in its head office, which are usually set on 20-minute no movement delays. However, in a bid to further decrease its electricity waste, Whelan has now set the timers to turn off after three minutes of no movement.

The company hopes that by implementing small changes such as switching off equipment, using recycled paper and by utilising eco products, that it can build its workforce into “eco ambassadors”.

Mr Carr said: “The support from the staff is crucial for this to be a success and we’re delighted that they’re all on board with our desire to become greener.”

Chris and Niki have already attended a number of seminars and courses since the department’s inception, to ensure they are up to speed with the latest in environmental developments and practices.