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Hire&Rental
INDUSTRY NEWS
MAY 2022
on emission reduction is well underway The future of hire: Action in global equipment manufacture and overseas business operations. Australia is catching up, keeping your business and the hire sector has a lot to gain by joining sustainable the trend.
Pressure is increasing for hire businesses of all sizes to adopt sustainable practices. Below, three industry leaders describe their companies’ emission reduction measures and the options for hire equipment suppliers that want to develop sustainable practices.
Blue Diamond
Blue Diamond’s core business is supplying mid-to-large sized, rapidly deployable power solutions for construction and mining. The company’s chief sustainability commitment is for its Perth head office operation to be 100 percent carbon neutral by the end of 2022. “Initially, this will be achieved by investing in a 77.5KW solar system and 60 kW of inverters,” said Justin Pitts, director. “That will cover 54 percent of our expected energy requirements, which are forecast to grow as we add equipment testing capabilities, primarily designed for our Net Zero range.” “We’re exploring ways to offset the balance of our energy requirements at our Kewdale hub. It’s likely to be through the purchase of excess energy with LargeScale Energy Certificates.” Next are emission reviews of the Melbourne and Brisbane premises, to create an entirely carbon neutral operation. On the supply side, there’s a sense of responsibility for selling equipment that doesn’t pollute. “Given that our core business is power generation, we feel the biggest impact we can have is investing in new technologies to give our customers options that help achieve their sustainability targets in the mining and construction sectors,” said Justin. “We have invested a significant amount in the latest emission reduction technologies from around the world, this will be led by our GEH2 hydrogen generator, powered by a Toyota fuel cell, and including lithium battery energy storage systems and solar.”
Expectations of change Blue Diamond’s actions were influenced by global trends and customer demand. “We based our strategy on what’s happening in more progressive countries, such as France, the UK and parts of Asia,” said Justin. “The Australian Government is doing a lot in terms of offering grants for projects but there is no incentive or policy here that has so far influenced our strategy. We’re driven more by what our customers are asking for and what we see as our role, given our position in the power generation market.” The company demonstrates leadership and commitment through investment. Justin says that while Blue Diamond customers are receptive to alternative power, the net zero solutions need to stack up economically, which is easier with some options than others. “We are extremely conscious of promoting clean energy solutions, given the reality is our core business will be supported by traditional diesel-powered solutions for some time yet while we transition to new technologies,” he said. Investing in net zero Two electrical engineers and a sustainable solutions specialist joined the Blue Diamond team, and over $3M was invested in their Net Zero Equipment range before receiving an order. “Well over $200,000 has been spent on compliance for the new solutions,” said Justin. “And it’s taken hundreds of hours to get an understanding of the packaging, applications and customisation options for our unique market.” “All of our solutions are related to hire and our focus is to assist clients to transition to zero emissions. Our offers will be led by our GEH2 hydrogen powered generator. We believe hydrogen will lead the energy
