Travis Perkins plc, the UK's largest distributor of building products and a significant partner to the construction industry, has announced that it will expand its experiment of using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as a replacement fuel for diesel in vehicles.
This comes after the company's decarbonisation roadmaps were recently published, aiming to reach the Group's net zero objective for scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2035.
When compared to diesel, the HVO used is sustainably obtained and made from waste materials like discarded cooking oils and other waste oils. It has the potential to cut carbon dioxide by up to 90%. It also has the potential to lower other pollutants by up to 30% in nitrogen oxide and up to 85% in particles while requiring no changes to existing diesel engines.
Travis Perkins has been working on the HVO study with Green Biofuels Ltd (GBF) since November 2021. Initially, one HVO fuel tank was installed in each of the Group's merchant businesses, including Travis Perkins, civils expert Keyline, heating solutions provider BSS, and drylining and insulation specialist CCF. The use of HVO will now be scaled up to encompass 30 branches and assist over 200 cars by the summer, based on the success of the study.
More evidence the construction industry like many others is moving towards a greener economy, with UK companies proving to be a leader in this space.