Norfolk construction services company May Gurney is sharpening up its green credentials with a plan to cut the amount of waste it produces at its head office.

Norfolk construction services company May Gurney is sharpening up its green credentials with a plan to cut the amount of waste it produces at its head office.

The company is looking to reduce its energy consumption at its

Trowse headquarters by 10pc and

cut the amount of waste it sends to landfill by 35pc by September this year.

Ian Findlater, group business development director at May Gurney, said: "With such ambitious goals, getting each and every staff member to contribute to the effort is vital.

"The launch day is designed to demonstrate to our 280-strong workforce here at Trowse that they can each make a difference to the impact May Gurney has on the environment."

May Gurney established an Environment Champions team to carry out an energy and waste audit

at the Trowse office, and set targets

for reductions based on the

results.

The audit report shows that on average, each employee uses 50 sheets of paper per day, with a target of 20-30 sheets set as part of the project.

The audit also showed that the Trowse office sends 12 tonnes of waste to landfill each year, 44pc of which is paper. This annual figure could be reduced by five tonnes by making better use of existing on-site recycling facilities.

And energy consumption is responsible for 297 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions - with meter readings showing that 29pc of these emissions are from weekend

energy use, when the office is virtually empty.

The project team has identified a series of short-term goals to be achieved in the next three to six months, and changes to be achieved in the longer term. The project will run until the end of September when a second audit will be carried out to identify the savings that have been made.

Mr Findlater said: "May Gurney

has always taken its responsibility

to the environment very seriously. The kind of work we carry out

means it is essential for all our employees to be well-informed

and safeguard against negative environmental impacts, and we

are justly proud of our green credentials.

"The audit carried out at our

Trowse office has shown us that by making small changes on the administrative side of the business, we can make a big difference to the amount of waste we produce and energy we consume, and the Environment Champions will make this happen."

The Environment Champions project is being implemented with the support of Global Action Plan, an environmental charity that helps people make positive change at work, school and home. The project at Trowse will shape May Gurney's approach to reducing its environmental impact throughout its sites nationwide.