Insights

Powering aviation with hydrogen
The aviation sector accounts for 6% of all UK greenhouse gases. It’s therefore unsurprising that a key challenge the country faces is ensuring that the sector plays its part in supporting our march to net zero by 2050. The recently announced Jet Zero strategy is central to tackling this challenge.

Think impact
Jeremy Galpin, Social Value Consultancy Lead at Costain calls on the sector to use the Value Toolkit from the earliest stages of project-planning to improve the social, economic and environmental value across the lifecycle of assets.

We’ve agreed a net zero target by 2050 but have we agreed a technically deliverable plan to get there?
It is widely accepted that the way we fuel our cars, heat our homes and generate power, needs to change if we are to meet our decarbonisation commitments and address the developing climate crisis. An initial emphasis on electricity-based solutions has promoted the rise in popularity of electric cars, and more recently installation of heat pumps in homes.

Solving storm release spills with systems thinking
The recent press coverage around sewage spills into watercourses has highlighted the scale of the challenge faced by water companies coping with the impacts of climate change and population growth. Delivering a better service to customers and the performance improvements required by Ofwat through the Outcome Delivery Incentives (ODIs) are driving the need to innovate and implement affordable solutions at pace.

Making the case for an integrated transport strategy for England
The country is crying out for transport solutions that improve the customer experience while honouring our commitment to lowering carbon emissions. That's why it's time to join-up our thinking and get serious about an integrated transport strategy for England.

Fleet decarbonisation - Filling the gap to net zero with hydrogen
In my previous blog, I talked about the challenges that fleet managers face when considering the transition to electric vehicles. However, for many organisations with fleets that include heavy duty vehicles, there’s further head scratching to be done.

Why it’s time to start accelerating the decarbonisation of your fleet
2030 is the milestone that many public and private sector organisations have circled in their diaries as the year when their vehicle fleet operations will be zero tailpipe emitting – Costain among them. Our Car Fleet Transition Plan outlines the steps we are taking to ensure we achieve a fully emission free fleet both for our company cars and car allowance fleets by 2030.

A better blueprint for greener infrastructure
As the long awaited Environment Bill makes its way through the House of Commons, many organisations and local authorities are preparing for the proposed Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) mandatory requirement. When the Bill is passed, any new infrastructure or building project regulated under the Town and Country Planning Act must increase biodiversity by 10%. But calculating and weighing up all the data, options and costs associated with managing biodiversity for a site is notoriously difficult and time consuming. If not managed effectively, it can impact programme delivery certainty.

How can infrastructure do more to boost biodiversity?
With an increase in UK government investment in infrastructure, now is the time to look carefully at how we as a sector can do more to minimise any negative impact on biodiversity. If we use the right technology tools early on in all projects, the industry has an opportunity to maximise its positive impact and biodiversity net gain across the UK.

Measuring and maximising the social value of major infrastructure programmes
The lives of individuals and their communities can be transformed not only by the creation of well-designed infrastructure but also by the project team doing social value brilliantly during the delivery phase.