The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are a globally recognised blueprint to help achieve a more sustainable world. There are 17 goals, covering a wide range of challenges such as climate change, sustainable cities and communities, poverty, industry innovation and infrastructure.

THX’s sustainability goals are aligned where we can with the wider global framework of the UN Social Development Goals. Our core corporate goals relating to sustainability focus on:

• Climate Action
• Responsible Consumption and Production
• Life on Land
• Sustainable Cities and Communities

In 2019, the UK set a target to reach net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. Construction is one of the main industries impacting carbon emissions globally, and currently contributes to approximately 40% of the UK’s total carbon emissions.

As an industry, we can work together towards reducing the level of emissions construction produces.  And, all businesses (both big and small) operating within the built environment can play a part in developing measures that help support the UN SDGs.

The tool hire industry operates a model that is founded on sustainability. Products are re-used over and over through a cycle of hiring, returning, servicing or re-purposing, and re-hiring.

At THX we want to further develop our sustainability model by ensuring that our business reflects practices that can support UN SDGs and the UKs 2050 net zero greenhouse emissions targets.

With a goal of reducing the amount of plastic waste we dispose of by 75% over the next year, we are committed to significantly decreasing the amount single use plastic we purchase and consume as a business.

Many of these changes will come from within the business. However, we will also be encouraging our own suppliers to think about the packaging they use on the products we purchase from them.

We encourage our teams to think about how they could commute to work in a way that would lessen the impact on the environment. From our end we have rolled out initiatives to help incentivise a more sustainable journey to work.

Cycle Scheme: THX is signed up to CycleScheme enabling staff to save money on a new bike and spread the cost

Car Sharing: Car Sharers get a priority, guaranteed car parking space at our Superhub.

Electric Charging Points: We have installed a number of electric charging points for the team to use if they have electric vehicles

We introduced our Eco-Anytime slot as an alternative delivery option that could help us reduce the daily emissions produced by our deliveries.

Our ‘Eco-Anytime’ slot enables our transport team to pack and schedule our fleet vehicles in the most efficient way possible to reduce the number of journeys required and lower daily fuel emissions.

Loading our vehicles for maximum efficiency not only helps reduce the number of journeys our fleet takes (reducing our daily emissions), it also ensures safe, efficient loading and unloading.