Green Is Great recognition at Soil Engineering Geoservices
Double success at Soil Engineering this week as two areas of the business were recognised with the global Green Is Great label by Soletanche Freyssinet
Marking best practice across our global operations the Green is Great programme recognises the efforts and innovations of the global efforts of our people, projects and depots. Simultaneously achieving gold standard labels for a our Leeds Plant Depot and our Camberwell Drive project illustrates our commitment to improving our environmental impact both onsite and offsite. The awards and labels were presented by Christophe Dauchy, General Manager of Soletanche Bachy, in a recent visit to our Leeds head office.
What is “Green is Great”?
A global effort to identify and promote environmental best practice throughout the Soletanche Freyssinet Group of businesses, the label programme analyses four aspects of activity and provides gradings up to Gold level, which reflects “A high level of site/workshop environmental maturity, regarding the list of best practices established by the business”. This reflects the four categories of assessment, “Circular Economy”, “Act for the Climate”, “Preserve Natural Environments” and “Management”
Collaborative Project
The Camberwell Drive project is a Mining Remediation Authority scheme to remediate a mine shaft in a residential area of Oldham, Lancashire. Led at delivery level by Soil Engineering, it has incorporated group delivery specialisms from both Sixense and Bachy Soletanche to provide unique solutions to a complex problem. Earning the Gold Standard Green is Great label, the project has focussed on the use of green technology to minimise the site’s carbon footprint whilst delivering a safe and effective scheme.
The site setup was planned collaboratively with supply chain partners to design our carbon from the outset, with solar power the preferred option across the site for all electrical activities. This has included the use of solar powered security systems, solar supported mobile welfare during the establishment stage, and hybrid generator power for the long-term setup, combining solar power and HVO fuel to slash the site’s emissions. All internal combustion engine (ICE) plant on site is run using HVO, and vehicle use is monitored across the project using the Lightfoot system to support positive driver behaviours. The Gold Label certificate and trophy were presented by Christophe Dauchy to Peter Stoddart, Soil Engineering’s Grouting Manager.
Gold Standard Plant Depot
The second Gold Label was presented to Mark Rhodes, our Plant & Depot Manager, recognising the significant level of innovation and investment in improvement made by the department. Highly commended at the 2025 Ground Engineering Awards for their knowledge sharing and willingness to innovate, the department have not rested on their laurels and instead pushed forward with further trials and integrations to improve efficiency, mitigate environmental risk, and support ever higher standards of operations across our business.
Key landmarks and initiatives contributing to the Depot’s Green is Great recognition include:
- Installation and monitoring of fleet-wide telemetry on drilling rigs, supporting maintenance programmes and fuel management
- Trial and adoption of the Lightfoot driver support system, the analysis of system data, and production of campaigns to support behavioural development, including a focus on plant and vehicle idling
- Refurbishment of heating a lighting systems to lower energy consumption options, and linking heating systems to plant access doors. Switching off heating systems while large roller shutter doors are open for plant movement significantly reduces heat loss, while localised extraction systems maintain exhaust emissions control
- Use of backload system to manage empty vehicle trips, and promote the circular economy by centralising reusable material distribution
- Removal of hydrocarbon-based thread lubricants, and replacement stable vegetable oil-based alternative across the business
Why does this matter?
The award of two Gold Standard “Green is Great” labels reflects the commitment of our business to the improvement of our environment impact, and global recognition of our efforts within one of the world’s largest construction groups. Reflecting upon the three pillars of our business, these label awards recognise the willing ness of our People to take ownership of issues and be responsible for improvement. They show that we adopt Safety principles in integrating solutions into our activities at both onsite and offsite levels, and that we embrace Sustainability as an inherent part of our business. That these labels have been awarded to both a depot and a project illustrates that we continue to deliver identifiable best practice across our operations.
Next Steps
As we continue to move forward on our goal of achieving 40% CO2 emissions reduction by 2030, we look forward to achieving further Green is Great labels for projects across the UK.
