Specialist building envelope manufacturer and installer, CA Group, has completed work on the 88,000m2 rail-connected distribution centre at Prologis’ Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT II) site. The facility will take its customer, Tesco, one step closer to its goal of becoming a zero carbon business by 2050. The new distribution centre was designed to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ accreditation and an EPC ‘A’ rating. Prologis’ design and construction process stipulates that all embodied carbon is measured and reduced. CA Group responded to this requirement by supplying pre-finished steel with Confidex Sustain®. Since the product’s embodied carbon emissions are 100% offset, the building has a carbon neutral envelope. Prologis then takes the process to the next stage seeking to mitigate further unavoidable embodied carbon emissions by supporting environmental charity Cool Earth’s work to reduce tropical deforestation. According to CA Group Development Director, Brian Watson, Tesco’s approach to the reduction of CO2 emissions is having positive impact all the way down the supply chain. He explained: “The targets set by Tesco, and other companies committed to aggressively reducing their carbon emissions, can only be achieved if the same rules apply to each link in the supply chain. “Over the past five years we have successfully reduced our CO2 emissions, resulting from the distribution of materials used in our roof and wall constructions, by more than 35% by changing our procurement and delivery processes.” Instead of scores of components being shipped via suppliers to site they are sent directly from CA Group’s manufacturing site in Evenwood, County Durham. This process maximises deliveries per vehicle which has, in turn, reduced the number of physical deliveries to site from as many as 230 to just 100 in the case of the Prologis scheme, a unique approach in the UK roofing and cladding market, according to Watson. He continued: “We have worked with Prologis for more than 15 years during which time we have been successful in demonstrating our leadership in the field of sustainable development. “For the DIRFT II project, Prologis wanted a building with a carbon neutral envelope, with a 25-year warranty, which is exactly what we delivered. “The roof is assembled using steel profiles. Tata Steel offers an inspection and maintenance free Confidex® Guarantee of up to 40 years with pre-finished steel products Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® and Colorcoat Prisma®. From the coil CA Group manufacture profile sheets and, together with the rest of the components, are able to provide the building owner and operator with a proven 25-year system guarantee.” The building had to achieve an air tightness of 2.5m3/hr/m2@ 50Pa and actually tested 1.47m3/hr/m2@ 50Pa. High levels of air-tightness reduce the need for warehouse heating, enhance the EPC rating and help greatly in ensuring compliance with Part L. Watson concluded: “Our approach covers the lifespan of the building from cradle to cradle with a particular focus on the end of life disposal costs of some hazardous materials, a subject which is expected to become one of the biggest issues facing the industry today.” In its cradle to cradle approach, CA Group has ensured that when a building reaches end of life status, all elements are either re-usable or can be recycled, in which case the system is cash positive and will not have punitive effect on the building owner.
