In 2017/18, we beat our regulatory targets for spoil recycling and use of recycled backfill materials for the first time.

Spoil to landfill and virgin aggregate performance has become a key performance incentive for contractors, and we provided additional training to enhance their performance and data reporting.

We’ve also taken advantage of new, approved recycling facilities in the region – sites that we successfully lobbied for in previous years.

The result? A 99% reduction in spoil to landfill (and a 16% reduction in virgin aggregate use) compared to the previous year.

Since 2014, we have been remediating our portfolio of former coal gas sites, where there is potential for land contamination.

On a site in Gateshead, we recently used solar powered pumps to remove coal tar from an underground tank – a entirely sustainable solution, which we plan to replicate on future jobs.

To date, we have completed land remediation at 9 sites – returning 3,500m2 of land to a healthy state.

Over the past year, our colleagues have volunteered 192 hours to help the RSPB at various nature reserves across our network.

NGN’s  Anna Kapeni volunteered at Salthome, Teeside, where cockleshell islands provide nesting sites for colonies of breeding Common Terns.

She said:

“Our task for the day was to strip the island of as much vegetation as possible, leaving only the cockle-shell base. We spent the day working as a team to rid the island of all its greenery, being careful to separate the Hemlock, which is poisonous to the areas’ organisms.

 “I would definitely recommend getting involved. It was a great day!”

We are trialling a range of electric and gas vehicles to see how they perform in our demanding operational environment.

We have introduced three Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vans to our fleet, a hydrogen powered car and are trialling three electric vehicles.

We are also working with Leeds City Council to deliver a compressed natural gas filling station which will power the council’s refuse lorries and has potential to incorporate other fuels, such as hydrogen.

A rolling programme to upgrade our offices and depots has been an opportunity to improve our business carbon footprint.

We have introduced energy efficient air conditioning units, boilers, low energy lighting with movement sensors and A rated electrical equipment such as computer screens.

Thanks to the investment, we expect to reduce energy use at our head office alone by more than 20%.

Mill Nurseries in Saltaugh is the latest biomethane plant to be connected to our network.

The family business grows tomatoes in glasshouses using renewable biomass heat and gas fired generators, producing electricity for the local network with beneficial CO2 capture.

Mill Nurseries brings the total number of biomethane sites connected to our network to 10.

We’ve always struggled to recycle the spoil we dig up during roadworks, and to reduce the amount of virgin material we use to fill the holes back in.

A scarcity of suitable recycling facilities in our region has certainly not helped, but we knew there was more we could be doing.

Over the past 12 months, we launched a competition with the local firms who carry out our mains replacement projects, challenging them to reduce virgin aggregate use in order to win financial rewards. Each firm was provided with a database of suitable recycling centres, and progress reviewed regularly.

We invested in two Core & Vac rigs in July 2016, which reduce the size of the holes we need to dig.

And we even helped one of our engineering partners set up a new aggregate recycling centre in North Yorkshire – an area short of this type of facility.

The result of all this collaborative working? Soil sent to landfill reduced by 60% and the use of virgin aggregate by over a third. Encouraging results, and a good platform to build on.

Siloxanes are silicon-based chemicals that can be found in biomethane. If siloxane levels are too high, household appliances such as boilers can burn inefficiently, presenting a health risk.

There had never been a rigorous, scientific UK-based study into safe siloxane limits, something that needed to be remedied as more and more biomethane projects came online.

To determine a safe siloxane limit, we went to some extraordinary lengths. Several different models of gas boilers and household gas fires were run 24/7 in a warehouse for a year, with different quantities of siloxane put through them.

The result was a new recommended safe limit: 0.23mg of siloxane per cubic meter of gas. We are now sharing the results with the wider industry, in the hope that this will become the new recognised standard.

Gas holders are relics of the age of town gas, and the structures are no longer needed.

In 2016/17, we demolished 7 of these holders, as part of a rolling programme. The sheer size of the structures, and the possibility of contaminated material, requires an environmentally sensitive approach.

When demolishing the Minton Lane gas holder in North Shields, for example, we removed 10,800m3 of contaminated water, 82 tonnes of oil and 54 tonnes of highly contaminated sludge.

470 tonnes of metal and concrete was shipped offsite for recycling, and to fill the void left by the structure, we used 23,000 tonnes of recycled aggregate from a local supplier.

We also went the extra mile for the local community, by suspending work while students from the nearby school sat their SATs exams.

Our Carcroft gas distribution station in Doncaster is built on the footprint of a former coal gasworks.

The site’s former use had generated significant ground contamination, posing a risk to the surrounding environment, including the local watercourse.

Our environmental and major projects teams worked together to overhaul the site and remove the risks – a task made especially difficult by the small site size and the presence of live, high-pressure gas pipelines.

The project saw us excavate 1,900 m3 of ground, to remove contaminated soil and take away an underground steel tank full of liquid coal tar.

This work has reduced the pollution threat posed by the site to the local environment, delivering lasting benefits.

We’ve teamed up with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) and Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT) to help them with vitally important conservation work in our region. The Yorkshire and Durham based charities help to protect wild places and wildlife for current and future generations to enjoy.

As corporate members of the trust we are running a programme of volunteer days, asking our colleagues to get their hands dirty by helping out! Maintenance tasks range from fence building to weed pulling and come rain or shine we’ll have a band of willing volunteers equipped to help.

We’ve given the YWT and DWT around 400 hours of hands on help over the year to contribute to their ongoing conservation projects, a valuable contribution to our local community and the environment; upholding the core values of our community promises.