22 Nov 07

Project Allenby/Connaught the £8bn PFI project provides modern, high quality, fully serviced and purpose built living and working accommodation for 20% of the British Army, received a further endorsement of its progress when Aspire Defence Capital Works scooped two awards in the Building Sustainability Awards 2007. The awards gained were for the ‘Sustainable Development of the Year’ and ‘Best Sustainability Initiative for the Public Sector’. 

These are the industry’s leading awards recognising outstanding sustainability achievement and environmental excellence which were held this week at London’s Park Lane’s Hilton Hotel.

Aspire Defence, a joint venture between Carillion and KBR was the only organisation to gain two awards at the ceremony. Members of the Aspire Defence team, including Peter Caddock, senior environmental manager together with Steve Arthur, pre-construction director were presented with the trophies by comedian and author Clive Anderson. Aspire Defence has been contracted by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver high quality modern, sustainable living and working accommodation for 18,700 soldiers who are based in garrisons across Aldershot and around the Salisbury Plain area – helping to make soldiers’ lives better. 

Sustainability covers a wide range of issues and is embedded in the heart of the project in all its design, construction and service delivery elements. Solutions have been developed with local authorities, Natural England and others and include low  carbon energy technologies, measures to reduce energy and water consumption; bio-diversity; wildlife protection; encouraging economic regeneration and local employment; ensuring staff are well protected and minimising the impact construction activity has on local communities. Aspire Defence has designed a range of new buildings that are being constructed in energy efficient ways. From modular units, where each block of 36 man flats can be built in just 12 weeks, to installing solar panels to provide energy that will reduce the cost of heating, we have included an array of ways to provide sustainable solutions. The solar panels provided on new buildings will have a floor area equivalent to Westminster Abbey.

Reducing energy consumption is key to Aspire Defence. New buildings are being fitted with rainwater harvesting systems and we manage the UK’s largest energy and water metering programme, with over 800 buildings being monitored. Each year 4.5 million toilets will be flushed with rainwater collected on site. That’s enough rainwater to fill 10 Olympic size swimming pools.