Cutting our carbon footprint

CMT Group are stepping up and committing to sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint. One of our core company values is building for the future, and that includes making sure we’re not creating excessive waste and actively looking to reduce carbon emissions. Recently, Waste Management reviewed the office and landscape yard site and provided feedback on our current waste procedures. Based on their recommendations we have committed to making changes throughout the company.

Sustainability is an important part of being future-focused and not living solely in the present. It is vital for companies and individuals to consider their impact on the environment and community in order to preserve our ecosystems and ensure that generations to come will not be severely impacted.

Reducing carbon impact even by a small amount may not seem consequential, but every bit counts. On average Kiwis produce 3.6kg of waste EACH per day for a total of 734kg per year. Finding ways to reduce this as a company and as individuals is important to us here at CMT Group in order to preserve our beautiful planet.

In the near future, we will be reviewing and implementing several small changes to help boost our overall sustainability. We will first be implementing systems to measure our total waste and judge our current carbon footprint. From this information, we will be able to set targets and easily measure our improvements as we make changes.

Some initial small changes we will be changing within the main office include: swapping paper towels with hand dryers, removing individual bins beneath each desk, and replacing them with separate bins within the offices, kitchen, and yard to help encourage the separation of different trash and recycling. We will also start compost bins to recycle food waste and coffee grounds and recycle previously unrecycled materials such as hard hats.

Our main efforts will start with our main office. This way we can develop systems that work for us. We will shortly after start integrating these measures on sites to ensure we are being as sustainable as possible company-wide. Our sustainability efforts start with our people, ensuring education around sustainable practices and spreading them throughout the company will help us to do our part to look after the planet.

We already have some efforts made to reduce waste and support environmental preservation. For example, we reuse some building materials on personal and community projects rather than waste materials from demolition prior to previous projects. We also use sustainable wrapping for pallets made from sugar cane for our shipping and crush concrete to reuse for future projects. We also support ‘Trees that Count’ a charity organisation that focuses on planting trees and stopping deforestation.

CMT Group is committing to training staff to be environmentally conscious and we will ensure our policies and procedures are followed. Check out this blog to find out more about our sponsorships and environmentally friendly wrap.