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3 Tips for Making a Construction Site More Eco-Friendly

As the manager of a construction site or the owner of a construction company, you have the responsibility of ensuring that your business is operating in accordance with local law and ordinances related to environmental and occupational safety. In addition to abiding by these mandatory guidelines for the sake of compliance, it also makes sense to maintain an eco-friendly approach in order to paint a positive picture about your brand for prospective clients, partners, and the general public. With that being said, here are three simple steps you can take to make a construction site more environmentally friendly.

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Reduce Traffic by Minimizing the Need to Move Off-Site

Transportation is one of the biggest factors that contributes towards the carbon footprint and environmental impact of a construction company. Transporting materials, equipment, and laborers to and from the job site adds up to a substantial amount of fuel used and exhaust emitted. To reduce this negative impact, try to keep workers and components on-site as much possible. This can be done by housing storage units and Satellite Restroom Trailers on-site so that employees don’t have to make unnecessary trips.

Upgrade Equipment

Using outdated and inefficient equipment can lead to an excessive use of energy and unnecessary pollution. While upgrading may represent a significant investment of capital, in the long-term it will be worthwhile to go ahead and make this adjustment now instead of putting it off until a later date. Working with older equipment also presents safety, performance, and quality risks. If you’re an established company, you may be able to get help with financing to pay for the equipment upgrades needed to make your job sites cleaner and greener.

Use Wet Processes and Enforce Thorough Cleanup Policies

When materials and surfaces are worked with in a dry state, they generate lots of dust and other potentially harmful particles that float into the air and pollute surrounding areas. Plus, these airborne substances can also present health risks for workers, and even though the immediate short-term consequences aren’t apparent, eventually it can cause problems for people and communities down the line. To keep dust and airborne pollution minimal at your job sites, be sure to train all staff on using wet processes and continual cleaning practices.

Making a Difference One Job Site at a Time

When debating whether or not to actually heed the tips above, you might be on the verge of dismissing these suggestions simply because you don’t feel it will make much difference in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, if every business owner thinks like that, then there would never be any positive change. Taking steps to make your company operate in an eco-friendlier manner might require an initial investment and some operational changes, but ultimately, it’s more than worth the hassle just to know that you’re a part of the solution and not the problem. Furthermore, even if you personally don’t care much about taking the moral high ground, doing so can help you project a more appealing brand image to clients and partners who are environmentally conscious themselves.

Clay Miller
the authorClay Miller
I am the creator/writer of Ways2GoGreen.com and Ways2GoGreenBlog.com. I'm an advocate for oceans, beaches, state parks. I enjoy all things outdoors (e.g. running, golf, gardening, hiking, etc.) I am a graduate of the University of Kentucky (Go Wildcats!!). I'm also a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Kentucky.

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