British Steel has announced that it is making a serious investment of £800,000 on oil detection and skimming equipment, designed to transform how it monitors the water network, with the aim being to reduce the risk of oil entering local watercourses, as well as monitoring the quality of the onsite water network.
The equipment is due to be installed at the business’s Scunthorpe site, with the move welcomed by the Environment Agency, BusinessLive reports.
Senior regulated industry officer with the agency Peter Borrell explained that the organisation works closely with industries to make sure operations don’t have a negative impact on the environment and this investment by the steelworks company will help prevent and minimise pollution, while protecting the Bottesford Beck from oil emissions.
Lee Adcock, group environment manager with British Steel, said that the company takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously, working to minimise the impact on the local environment wherever possible.
“While we’re extremely careful about how we handle [oil] and have made significant efficiencies in our use of oil in recent years, it’s essential we have plans in place to ensure we minimise the risk of oil entering our site drainage system in the unlikely event of a leak.
“By investing in this technology we’re doing everything within our power to monitor the presence of oil in our water systems and to quickly and effectively get rid of it, therefore minimising the risk of the substance entering local watercourses,” he was quoted by the news source as saying.
Another organisation taking steps to become more sustainable in the future is HMRC, which recently published its Sustainability Report for 2019/2020 and committed itself to becoming net zero carbon by 2040.
Where water specifically is concerned, it also revealed that it has achieved its efficiency target of below 7m3/full time equivalent, with a 46 per cent drop representing savings of more than 437 million litres of water – enough to fill 175 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Such achievements were made through a reduction in estate size, immediate water leak repairs and implementation of water efficiency measures, such as replacing old plants with more efficient equipment.
If these stories have inspired you to review your own water efficiency at your place of business, you’ll be happy to hear that there is a lot you can do to improve your water footprint and start operating more sustainably in the future.
Talk to the team here at H2o Building Services to find out what you can achieve in this regard, whether you want to look into water leak detection and repair, have a site audit carried out, focus on automated meter readings or perhaps consider rainwater harvesting as an option.
We have years of experience behind us to help you find the right solutions for you and your business, so get in touch to find out more.
