Sustainable Concrete in the UK Construction - Coursework Example

?Sustainable Concrete of the 22nd November, Introduction Manufacturing can be identified as the initial stage at which raw materials are converted into usable products. There exist numerous forms of manufacturing in the guest to produce the items commonly used around the world. The construction industry is what offers all mankind products in which to shelter. Concrete has been used in this industry for hundreds of years. In the manufacture of concrete, cement comes as the major ingredient although it is a processed product itself. This industry has been identified as causing massive environmental damages within the production area. The materials used like cement produce a lot of dust and, therefore, contribute greatly to this pollution. Gore & Steffen (2008) states that with the current issues of climate change and global warming, this industry are faced with a surmountable task of alienating itself from the effects of climate change. This raises the issue of ‘going green’ – manufacturing using eco-friendly procedures and operations. Challenges Industrialization in the recent years shows an immense impact on the environment. There have been some positive effects as well as negative ones. The negative effects of industrialization on the environment continue to cause the players within the industry acclaimed nightmares. In the manufacturing industry, top among the environmental concerns has been the emission of greenhouse gases. These gases have been identified as a leading cause of pollution to the ozone layer. The effects of these emissions have become evident around the globe with adverse effects of global warming becoming a reality as time progresses (Edward, 2006). Immense pressure continues to pile for manufacturers to adopt manufacturing methods showing low levels of carbon emissions. Concrete manufacturing industry also faces the challenge of dust which causes chest infections while contributing to environmental degradation. The adoption of sustainable manufacturing processes seems to be an invention in the right direction. A relative pollution reduction level has been achieved by the industry players who have adopted the culture of sustainable manufacturing. Sustainable manufacturing can be defined as the new way of doing business in the manufacturing industry (Frank-Martin and Peattie, 2009). It ensures that, while organizations adopt new environment friendly sources of energy, competitiveness is maintained by the business. Most manufacturers do this by improving their processes and products as well. The process of production poses a bigger challenge to the environment than the product. The method most manufactures have adopted to achieve sustainable manufacturing has been the use of 3Rs (reduce, recycle reuse). This method aims at reducing emission of wastes, finding uses for the waste products and recycling any manufactured item which can be recycled. The challenges posed by this approach are still enormous. The company would make a shift into manufacturing using sustainable production methods. It aims at reducing the amount of emission it delivers to the environment. Dust produced by concrete manufacturing plant needs to be controlled. Through the control of the amount of dust emitted, the company shall be able to achieve environmentally sustainable production level. This level can be marked by reduced emissions and pollution from a single plant. The company can install air compression facilities on the machines used for production. These facilities shall ensure the machine produces smaller amounts of air into the environment. The air produced by machines has been identified as what blows dust into the environment. Through compression, the level of dust emission shall be reduced leading to reduced dust pollution from the plant as a whole. In the UK construction and demolitions, have been identified as the two biggest waste streams. The impact of this has a direct impact on the concrete production industry. Managing this waste would significantly enhance the environmental policies of the company. The company can establish a recycling plant for concrete. It can be able not only to deal with the concrete it produces, but also recycle concrete for other companies, as well. The existing clients of the company products shall also be able to get these services. This can inadvertently make them seek these services from this company. Using its recycling plant, the company can be able to recycle its own waste and reduce the costs incurred for waste management services offered. Reducing the waste generated by the company shall put the company on the limelight of environmental sensitivity. The installation of air compressors can take a fortnight to be complete, and this would not paralyze the other operations. During the entire period of construction of the recycling plant, the company shall continue with normal operations. Several changes need to be adopted within the company structure once the changes have been implemented on the plant. This being a going green project; the members of staff need to be trained of the aspects of the project. The company also needs to let the staff know of the reasons behind adopting this line of production. The company continues to work with the current employees with several additions like environment impact assessment personnel (Jay et al., 2007). The training shall ensure that the employees become conversant with the new operational procedures and instill the “green” culture within the employees. This should be the first step the company should take towards going fully green. The implementation of these proposed changes shall be of substantial benefit the company and the neighboring community, as well. The recycling plant shall create new business opportunities for the company while helping maintain a clean environment for the community (Bansal and Roth, 2000). Through it, the Company should be able to offer after sale services to its clients. Damaged concrete chunks can be acquired from the costumers and recycled as a way of offering after sale services to its customers. A product of the customer’s choice can also be made from the recycled concrete at a reduced fee to the customer. This can vastly improve the market share for the company as well as enhance competitiveness. Through the recycling plant, the company shall establish a recycling department. The company shall be able to recycle concrete from its clients as well as from demolished buildings within the location. Through the initiation of such a project, the environment around the premise location shall be cleaned. This line of production shall ensure that the company maintains active involvement in the environment conservation processes. The climate change act of 2008 was aimed at making sure that the country can achieve reduced industrial emissions in the coming years. The government, therefore, expects companies within the construction industry to integrate operations in line with this act. By implementing the proposed changes the company will be complying with the law while it diversifies its operations. The implementation of these changes should be considered among the top priorities for the company. The company shall continue with the production of its current products using this new technology. Solar powered machines can immensely reduce the amount of emission produced by the plant (Barney, 1986). The company does not need to purchase new equipment; the power source for the current equipment is going to be changed. The company shall also move into recycling as a way of maintaining a clean environment. The structural designs of the products shall only be modified slightly as a result of the recycled raw material. The quality of the final product can be maintained by implementing these slight adjustments. Client satisfaction is expected to be high if the standards are implemented effectively and effectively accepted by the people targeted. Adopting this new operation system shall reduce the amount of raw materials the company uses in production. With recycled materials being integrated into the production channel, the demand for raw materials from the suppliers shall go down. The recycled materials, act as a supplement of the initial raw materials used. The effect of this shall not be on the company as the shift will have changed to using recycled materials. The production levels of the company shall not reduce as a result of this. The increased business gained as a result of these changes can be able to cater for the financing of the implementation process. Financing should, therefore, not be a paramount concern for the management as effective returns shall be achieved. With an allocation of about 5% of the annual budgetary requirements for the company, these changes shall be implemented. The rest of the implementation financing can be acquired through a loan to be serviced with the profits gained from the project. The project shall be able to reach a break even point within the second year of operation. Based on these projected returns to be achieved from the project, the company should not hesitate to implement these changes. The project has the capacity to repay the loans used for its implementation. Conclusion The inclusion of these new changes into the company’s production system will tremendously benefit the company. Not only will they reduce dust emission, the business area for the company shall expand. Offering a variety of services puts the company in a better position in terms of competition as it gives the company an edge over competitors. The company shall become recognized among other companies to have adopted the green culture and, therefore, enhance credibility to possible future clients. With current growing concerns about global warming around the globe, it would be inevitable for any company to fail to adopt changes towards a sustainable environment (Edwards et al., 2001, p. 258). These changes would go a long way in ensuring the company maintains an up-to-date environment impact policy within its production processes. This would encourage other environment sensitive organizations to conduct businesses with the company. References Bansal, P.; Roth, R. (2000). "Why Companies Go Green: A model of Ecological Responsiveness". The Academy of Management Journal 43 (4): 717–736. 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