Equipment rental: The sustainable choice

Renting equipment can help reduce your CO2 footprint while increasing profits

July 26, 2011

Sustainable innovation has become increasingly important in recent years. Customers are under pressure to reduce their environmental impact, especially their carbon footprint, in the face of anticipated carbon regulation. At the same time, many customers have realized that a sustainable approach is one that can often save money as well as improve safety and efficiency. The result is more customers are actively looking for suppliers and solutions that can contribute to their sustainability efforts.

Equipment rental is one such solution.

In many cases, equipment rental is an intrinsically more sustainable and efficient option for customers than the outright purchase of specialized equipment. Each piece of rental equipment can be shared by many users, raising its overall utilization efficiency and conserving resources that might otherwise have gone toward the manufacture of new units. With rentals, customers also don’t have to worry about equipment reliability, delivery or storage.

It starts with the bidding process

During the bidding process for any sustainable project, an important consideration, that can set any contractor apart, is the ability to measure the CO2 generated in connection with the project. A sample report could be included with the bid proposal. The final report would be presented at the conclusion of the job. This final report would reflect the CO2 emitted on the project by the equipment used.

Companies like RSC Equipment Rental can help contractors with such reporting. For example, RSC’s Equipment Emissions Tracking (E2T) solution calculates CO2 and criterial pollutant emissions from equipment usage. For more information, visit RSC’s website
at www.rscrental.com.

Over the past several years the increase in regulation, as well as the economic recession, has positioned companies and contractors to implement practices and processes that truly drive money to the bottom line. As a result, there is a need to focus on sustainability the “right way”. This is the only way to have a truly sustainable business because it will help you drive revenue while reducing your costs. Equipment rental is one way to maximize this reality.

DOCUMENTATION CAN HELP

A contractor can use the information from the sample report during the construction phase to help reduce emissions during the project in three distinct ways, all of which can save money:

First, what is precisely measured can be improved significantly. Partner with an equipment rental company that can provide precise data about CO2 calculation as well as help identify areas of opportunity for CO2 reduction. I learned recently that during a construction kickoff meeting for a large project here in Arizona, which required measurement of CO2 by all vendors on the site, some vendors walked out of the meeting because they considered this measurement a complexity they were not able to handle. My guess is that if those contractors knew that an equipment rental company could help with this requirement, they would still be on that jobsite.
Second, utilizing the data to help select the right equipment for the job is important to make more environmentally sensitive choices that will be able to accomplish the same results. Many times contractors will either own or rent a more universal piece of equipment — one that can handle a multitude of jobs. Yet that is analogous to having a sledgehammer when a hammer will suffice. And carrying a sledgehammer around all the time is quite inefficient. The benefit of renting is that it enables the use of the exact piece of equipment necessary — without the initial capital outlay and the hassles of maintenance, storage and transporting — all of which can have a negative impact on the CO2 footprint. There are additional environmentally friendly benefits of renting. Equipment rental companies typically have a younger fleet, with higher-tiered engines, than contractors. These higher-tiered engines produce fewer emissions. Also, the rental company’s preventive maintenance helps to ensure the piece of equipment is operating at its peak efficiency from an operation perspective and from an emission perspective. At RSC, our rigorous preventive maintenance program keeps our equipment at the highest quality. We regularly run at 99% compliance with OEM recommended preventive maintenance.
Third, partnering with the right equipment rental company can assist in reducing the amount of fleet needed on the jobsite by optimizing the fleet currently owned and rented. Appropriate asset management (which can be handled by systems like RSC’s Total Control enables jobsites to benefit by rental optimization. Such systems ensure customers do not rent more then they need, and helps to ensure the equipment is there when the customer needs it. Lastly, partnering with a rental company that is truly committed to customer service and sustainable solutions will ensure the equipment will be of the highest quality and improve operations.