St. Modwen Homes trials carbon-free electric forklifts

St. Modwen Homes will be trialling the introduction of electric forklifts that each reduce CO₂ emissions by 31.35* tonnes per year. The reduction equates to emissions from a car driving 78,789** miles – which is nearly twice around the world. 

The trial, which will accelerate the transition from heavily polluting practices in the construction industry to cleaner alternatives, has started at St. Modwen Homes’ Branston Leas development. It has been operating since December 2021 and St. Modwen is planning to roll out electric forklifts and alternative carbon reduction equipment across all future sites in England and Wales as supplies and local requirements allow.

Traditional forklifts, which run on diesel, produce 15.2kg/hr of CO₂ emissions. Switching to electric alternatives is a significant opportunity to decarbonise construction. The annual carbon emissions saving from just one electric forklift compared to a traditional diesel alternative is equivalent to over 41*** round trips by aeroplane between London and Beijing.

The move supports St. Modwen’s wider ambition to be operationally net zero carbon by 2025. The developer has already cut its operational carbon footprint by 30% in 2020 and will soon announce further reductions achieved in 2021.

St. Modwen Homes has also already switched to green electricity supplies for all on-site power supplies, and where new sites are not ready to be connected to the National Grid, in 2021 the company introduced a container-based solar system. Drawing on renewable energy from the sun, the system harnesses and stores cleaner electricity to power site compounds and offices.

Dave Smith, Managing Director at St. Modwen Homes, said: “We are pioneering a range of techniques to reduce our carbon footprint and build homes fit for the future. The move to widespread use of electric forklifts is an enormous opportunity for emissions savings and we want to see the rest of the industry take similar steps to cut carbon.”

This month, St. Modwen Homes announced it is the first major developer to build affordable carbon negative homes that slash energy bills by over 50% and overall carbon emissions by over 100%. The homes currently being trialled at St. Modwen Homes’ Heathy Wood site in Copthorne will produce more energy than they consume and are fitted with a range of climate-friendly tech.

St. Modwen Homes is committed to continually improving the environmental impact of new homes, through both the construction process and preparing them for modern customer lives. New product options for customers have already been launched to boost the green credentials of their new homes.

* Based on CO2 emissions of 15.2kg/hr, 7.5 hrs of use per day, 5.5 days per week, 50 weeks per year.

** Based on EPA calculator (https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator) – average petrol passenger vehicle, defined as 2-axle 4-tire vehicles.

*** Based on ICAO calculator (https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Carbonoffset/Pages/default.aspx).