Live meters installed on jobsites allowed Turner to identify opportunities for electricity reduction in real time.


temporary power package. Make sure that temporary power one-lines are dis- tributed amongst the team in advance of submission or gear purchases to make sure that all the power needs on the site can be met, especially with a transition to electric equipment.


4)If you must use diesel, use renew- able diesel. Renewable diesel, unlike biodiesel, is chemically identical to con- ventional diesel but comes at a fraction of the life cycle carbon emissions, since it is plant-based.1


Not only does it burn


cleaner than conventional diesel, but the production of renewable diesel is subsidized in California, making it nearly cost-neutral to conventional diesel.


5)Implement an all-LED policy. Write this into your scopes of work and train field staff how to identify non-LED lights on the jobsites. String lights are easy to swap, but lights that are often forgotten include task lights, stand lights, wobble lights, and high bay lights.


6)Commit to no-idling. A recent study by Komatsu found that 40% of the op-


erating time of a construction vehicle’s operating time is spent idling.2


With


idling consuming roughly one gallon of diesel per hour3


, setting up signage on


site and talking about no-idling during safety onboarding meetings can translate to real carbon and fuel savings.


7)Engage your rental partners. Many rental partners have significant purchas- ing power for green equipment and have wide access to sustainable equipment options. Opportunities for low-carbon equipment grow significantly through engaging with rental partners and con- necting vendors with subcontractors.


Notably, this list focuses on what is implementable on a wide scale now, and does not go into great detail about large excavators or off-road forklifts; while manufacturers like Volvo and CAT are certainly working to develop these product lines, recent presentations at the 2023 ACT Expo suggested that green large equipment options are most likely to start coming to market in 5-15 years, particularly as the market for hydrogen fuel cells gets more developed.


In the meantime, contractors in Califor-


nia can stay up to date by participating in industry groups (like the Bay Area Sustain- able Construction Leaders, a collaboration of commercial contractors focused on pushing sustainability in the Bay Area) or subscribing to green forums (like Building Green, which has a Sustainable Construc- tion Leaders sub-group). Lastly, as progress only happens through collaboration, ask vendors and trade partners what they recommend to improve the status quo.


Emi LaFountain is Sustainability Integration Manager at Turner Construction. In her role she focuses on identifying and


integrating sustainability best practices into contract documents and bid forms.


Endnotes/attributes: 1


www.neste.us/neste-my-renewable-diesel#:~:text=Neste%20 MY%20Renewable%20Diesel%E2%84%A2%20(R99%20 diesel)%20is%20a%20sustainable,or%20blended%20at%20 any%20ratio.


2


www.equipmentworld.com/business/article/14953336/how- to-save-money-and-protect-equipment-by-creating-an-anti- idling-policy-at-your-construction-company


3


https://gpstrackit.com/blog/how-much-fuel-does-idling- waste/#:~:text=According%20to%20Idle%20Free%20 California,per%20hour%20in%20most%20vehicles.


CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023


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