Winner: Plan Zero, Mitie
Sponsored by: NG Bailey
Mitie’s Plan Zero initiative commits to net-zero operational emissions by 2025, and net-zero non-operational emissions by 2035, with set milestone targets all exceeded this year. Mitie is now using its in-house expertise to deliver solutions for clients, and, to date, has saved customers 353,000 tonnes of carbon.
Results Gleaned
Plan Zero has produced significant results, including a 26 per cent reduction in carbon emissions year on year. Mitie has the largest fully electric fleet in the UK, with over 1152 EVs, and over 776 on order, including Vivaro-e’s. Within one year of this transition, over £1million had been saved, and it has now removed over 5760 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
This transition has made a positive impact socially too. In its EV driver surveys, results show its drivers’ biggest concern is charge-point infrastructure, therefore the company has installed over 950 commercial and residential charge-points, and lobby for the improvement of this infrastructure.
Mitie has partnered with Mina, to allow direct payment for home-charging costs. This ensures renewable energy is used when charging and allows Mitie to influence its employees to power their homes with renewable energy, too. Mitie purchases 100 per cent of its energy as REGO-backed (renewable energy guarantee of origin), and a ‘Mitie’ tariff for employees is in development.
Mitie’s Bin the Bag initiative removes single-use plastic liners from the office disposal process. This saves Mitie 40,000 plastic liners, equating to 600kg of plastic, and will save £6000 annually. Initiatives like these have resulted in Mitie reducing its waste sent to landfill by 61 per cent in two years.
Mitie is decarbonising its buildings. All buildings have now had desktop and physical surveys, and reports. Optimisations have been completed at the 15 most significant sites identified, mostly including changing A/C controls settings, or optimising BMS (Building Management Systems) strategies. The larger, CAPEX projects are now being implemented. These initiatives have identified annual carbon emissions savings of 475,328 kg, 44 per cent of the company’s FY18/19 emissions baseline figure. Mitie has developed a Carbon Conscious Building selection guide, ensuring new properties acquired meet low-carbon guidelines.
Mitie’s agile working policy has saved 5,032 tonnes of carbon, and £1.9m in fuel, plus £1.6m in accidents, significant savings.
Mitie has produced a non-toxic, biodegradable, natural and organic cleaning product, reducing waste and eliminating chemicals. This product has been used at Mitie sites, and over 60 client sites too, covering over 1.49 million square metres.
Best practice learning point
From implementing Plan Zero, Mitie’s key learnings have been the need to reinvest savings from implemented initiatives, back into other bigger initiatives that require larger funding. This is integral to the approach, and as funding is most often the biggest obstacle to organisations implementing these sustainable initiatives and ways of working, provides a solution for this.
Key quote
One of Mitie’s Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) managers chose a Kia E-Niro, and after some initial concerns, said: “Mitie is helping the environment and our planet, but importantly, the car’s safety features reduce risk of a serious accident, so Mitie are also helping to keep me safe from harm.”