Norfolk Solar - who we are and how we operate

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our carbon footprint

Norfolk Solar offers products and services that help people to reduce their impact on the planet. However, in order for individuals, local and global communities to benefit from low emissions renewable energy, we as an organisation unfortunately have to create emissions and consume energy and resources during the manufacture, supply and installation process.

We could simply claim to be environmentally friendly because of the products we install, but we take the view that technology offering people a more sustainable way of living should be supplied and installed in an equally sustainable way.

Therefore, we have looked at the way Norfolk Solar operates, how much energy we consume, the greenhouse gas emissions we produce, the waste we generate and how we can be more sustainable. This is what we have discovered and what we are doing about it.

ENERGY FOR OFFICE EQUIPMENT

We have measured the electricity consumption for each item and have found that we use a very small amount of energy for computers, telephones, printers and a fax machine. All computers and printers are switched off when not in use and all of the electricity we consume is purchased through a green energy supplier, so our indirect emissions from electricity are extremely low.

ENERGY FOR PORTABLE EQUIPMENT

Wherever possible portable equipment is powered by rechargeable batteries to try and reduce the amount of disposable batteries we use.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste from our activities is separated and all metals, paper, cardboard, ink cartridges, wood scraps, old CD’s and some plastics are either recycled or reused wherever possible.

FUEL CONSUMPTION AND EMISSIONS FROM VEHICLES

Our use of vehicles is by far the biggest single impact Norfolk Solar makes on the environment. We have tried to reduce the number of miles we travel but this has proved impractical. Therefore, we have looked at ways of reducing the damage caused by each mile we drive. For light duty journeys we often use a small motorcycle. This reduces wear and tear on the road network, cuts fuel consumption to as little as one gallon per one hundred miles and lowers exhaust emissions thanks to a catalytic converter. We are also experimenting with a petrol and Bioethanol mixture to cut emissions further. For heavy duty journeys, our vans now run on pure Biodiesel in the summer months and a blend of Bio and mineral diesel in the winter months.

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