losses caused by rising sea levels through the reconnection of an area of floodplain to create reed-beds. Through demonstrating a greener way to work and considering the responsibility of its industries carbon impact, Land & Water is able to be part of some of the UK’s most successful environmentally con- scious projects. About Land & Water Land & Water is an award-winning inland waterway and coastal civil and environmental engineering company based in the UK. Throughout their 40-year history, their name has become synonymous with finding creative and effective solutions to complex challenges in the specialist environment where land and water meet. Often working in complex or sensitive habitats, their work is always completed with sympathy to the local surroundings, people and the environment.
The Thames Tideway project is a great example of how forward-think- ing solutions can be implemented to reduce carbon emissions and ben- efit ecosystems. However Land & Water is also prioritising alternative methods, by following a carbon reduction strategy, to further safeguard the environment and add value to the areas in which it works. By following a set of steps which help identify how projects are de- livered, or whether they even need to be delivered at all, through con- sidering alternative or low energy consumption methodologies such as "little and often" campaigns or the use of AI and digital mapping, Land &Water is able to improve and maintain the UK’s waterways and estuarial infrastructure in a more sustainable way. The firm has recently been implementing HVO fuel as an alternative to diesel, after successfully trialling Crown Oil’s biofuel at its Habitat Creation Scheme at Rainham. HVO fuel is a 90+ percent net carbon neutral, fully biodegradable bio- fuel which uses hydrogen to promote a cleaner-burn, straight carbon chain, without troublesome Esther’s which can cause degradation in time and ultimately block fuel filters. It also doesn’t require any plant modification which helps cut costs and enables companies to better the embedded carbon in its existing plant fleet. Reducing heavy footprint projects, such as at Rainham, to cut carbon is of key importance as Land & Water prioritises sustainable works. As part of this, the civil engineering firm has also significantly reduced its carbon output. On behalf of the Environment Agency at a recent project at Calstock, in South East Cornwall, Land & Water saved 75 percent of construction carbon and 72 percent whole life carbon by thinking more strategically to optimise solar gain for spoil conditioning, saving stabilisation costs and unnecessary HGV movements through the Cornish Village. The project, which reduces the risk of flooding in the area through the construction of new flood defence embankments on a set-back align- ment, also helped to increase local biodiversity and offset some habitat
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