75% of consumers now consider a company’s sustainability goals before they’re willing to make a purchase. This has driven countless companies, especially those in the retail sector, to make significant changes towards greener operations, including major reductions in their use of paper and plastic, as well as more notable differences in manufacturing. But one industry continues to fly under that conscious radar, and it’s one of the worst environmental offenders of all.Â
According to recent reports, the construction industry creates as much as 33% of the total waste in landfills, which is only part of the problem. Carbon emissions and generally harmful manufacturing are also at fault. For the most part, constructions that are often necessary rather than luxurious mean that most consumers have continued to invest despite these issues. But, as sustainability becomes ever more of a pressing issue, the time has come for even construction sites to take a greener route.Â
As well as making a construction company more appealing to a wide audience, these green practices can make a huge difference to the environment. But, what do those changes look like, and how can you build a greener construction site around them?
What you can expect in this article:
1. Go Green With Materials
Common construction materials like concrete release significant carbon emissions during manufacture, making their widespread use across a building site obviously problematic. By switching out these harmful materials for preferable sustainable alternatives like bamboo, wood, and even recycled plastics wherever possible, you can significantly reduce your site’s footprint overall. Prefabricated materials are also growing in popularity for construction developments thanks to the ability to reduce waste, improve quality, and put your materials to generally more efficient use.Â
2. Always Recycle
The high levels of waste across construction sites are a large part of the problem. And, they can be tackled by an increase in recycling of all possible materials. Obviously, reducing waste in the first place is preferable but, where offcuts are inevitable, site leaders shouldn’t hesitate to research information like where to recycle scrap metal near me, and what kinds of plastic are suitable for local recycling drives. It should be possible to have as much as half the amount of landfill created on any given construction site this way.Â
3. Economise Your Transport Fleet
The right vehicles are essential for helping any construction company to run smoothly, but they also contribute to construction carbon emissions. One of the most efficient ways to address this issue is to simply switch to more eco-friendly vehicles, such as electric vehicles, or vehicles which take biofuel. Unfortunately, these options can be costly upfront, and may not always be feasible. In that instance, more effective monitoring of things like minimum journey lengths, speed, and routes taken can all help to reduce the carbon footprint of site vehicles on the whole. And that can make a huge difference across the duration of an entire building project.Â
4. Go Paperless

Going paperless might seem more like something for office workers than individuals in construction, but the need for things like paper invoices and physical blueprints is still a point of construction contention. And, in this day and age, there’s really no need for it. By going paperless through the use of digital invoicing, blueprints, and more, construction site offices can become significantly more efficient. It may seem like a small thing but, when implemented alongside the other points mentioned, this change can be invaluable.Â
Final Thoughts
There’s a long way to go until we can consider construction to be a green industry and, with less accountability from consumers, there’s never been a great deal of incentive to implement those changes on a wide scale. However, sustainability should be a concern for everyone, and as more and more construction sites start to make incremental improvements in this area, the pressure for others to follow suit will only grow.Â
When that happens, it’s far better to be at the forefront of this change with sustainable practices like these, which can put you ahead of the crowd where it matters the most. As well as saving you money and time once you’ve put in the hard work of implementing them, these green improvements can significantly lessen the waste, damage, and impact of your construction processes overall. As such, you could argue that you owe it to yourself, and your customers to put in the effort now so that you can keep on appealing to a wide audience base in the future.Â
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