A Wigan borough firm becomes first hire company to be accredited for its zero emission quest

Wigan borough firm Astley Hire has become the first in its sector in the UK to be accredited with the ISO:14068-1 standard as it continues their push to be a zero-emission company.

The Leigh-based company has been awarded accreditation by the National Quality Assurance (NQA) following a recent audit that reviewed its Carbon Neutral efforts as a business.

The International Standard is essential for companies that are committed to carbon neutrality, supporting sustainable development and transition to low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission activities.

It ensures that carbon neutrality efforts are true, fair, scientifically valid, and communicated transparently.

ISO:14068-1 standard is a replacement for the PAS2060 accreditation that Astley Hire has held for the last five years.

Through their effective carbon-reduction plan, they have reduced their output by 24 per cent over the last 12 months.

It’s not just their efforts from the last year that have contributed to this achievement; by monitoring carbon emissions over several years and gaining a good understanding of the data, they have been able to get positive and efficient results from their plan.

Over the last eight years, Astley Hire has been working on reducing their carbon footprint in numerous ways, having a longer-term outlook, being responsible for its emissions and taking carbon out of the atmosphere.  

Switching vehicles over to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuels, installing solar panels on the roofs of their headquarters, removing all natural gas on site and switching to electric boilers and radiators to heat the site are just some of the small ways they have made improvements.

All these factors are working towards the government’s target of being NetZero by 2050 – a target that Astley Hire is already ahead of.

Their efforts don’t stop at the standard; they plan on continuing their push for carbon neutrality by switching more vehicles to HVO fuel, a change that would reduce their emissions by a further 23 per cent and continuously improving and developing their infrastructure.

General manager Martin Doran said: “It has been a goal of ours for the past few years to push for carbon neutrality.

“We already have other accreditations, but we wanted to achieve the International Standard to show that we are serious about our efforts.”

“Everyone at Astley Hire has bought into the Carbon Neutral ethos, and we continue to work towards a greener future for the business.

As part of the ISO standard, the business works out its carbon footprint, while efforts have been made to reduce this, any residual carbon is then offset using the United Nations Carbon Offset Platform.

The platform offers a range of carbon-saving projects that have a business you can then support.

This year, Astley Hire has supported a hydro power plant in Potrer, Peru.

It has supported a wide range of carbon-saving projects over the past five years, and staff are normally involved in the decision-making process. Investing in these carbon-saving projects is a short-term solution, with a longer-term focus on the company’s journey to net-zero. 

Astley Hire is an industry-leading company within the Access and Cleaning Equipment Hire, as well as being an IPAF and PASMA-accredited training centre.

It also supports businesses further by providing temporary cooling and heating solutions.