“We’re incredibly proud to continue to operate a zero-emissions facility [under Scope 1 and 2] in Bury St Edmunds. This accomplishment reinforces our commitment to staying ahead in our journey toward net-zero.”

by Nick Pryke

The title couldn’t be more literal! For us, “burning” refers to natural gas, which has been the primary heating source for both our main print and mail production unit, as well as our storage facility, since we moved to Lamdin Road, Bury St Edmunds in 2012.

We’ve already made great strides towards sustainability, our Head Office runs on a 200kW rooftop solar power system, features low-energy lighting throughout, and uses a highly efficient Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system for heating. To further reduce our carbon footprint, we ensure that any additional energy we purchase is 100% renewable, and all company cars are electric.

So a great baseline, but the burning of gas became a thorny, frustrating and challenging obstacle to fix…just how can we get rid of fossil fuels and achieve our goal of a fully sustainable operation?

The challenge?  

How could we eliminate fossil fuel dependency, introduce a cost-effective, sustainable heating solution, and make it work within our existing setup? And frankly what does this kind of project even look like! Left to our own devices the head-scratching was not bringing the progression we were craving. We spoke with various suppliers, got some fanciful proposals, many of which had eye-watering costs attached to them, we felt stuck and needed a breakthrough.

In late 2022, two key developments happened in tandem giving the project the renewed impetus it needed. First, we engaged King’s Cooling Solutions for our HVAC maintenance. At the same time, we partnered with the not-for-profit organisation Groundwork East, who provided us with a comprehensive building energy audit of our facilities. King’s Cooling Solutions proposed a practical Air-Source Heat Pump (ASHP) system for our production unit. This system uses three ducted units suspended by threaded rods, each circulating warm or cool air through spiral ducts — a visually striking setup.

“Working with Precision was a pleasure.  We are delighted that we have been able to provide the Production Area and the warehouse with environmentally friendly Air Source Heat Pump solutions for both areas, ensuring the staff have controllable heating and cooling throughout the year.”

Kings Cooling Solutions Limited

Together with improvements to our space heating operational arrangements, this solution would deliver more controllable heating in the winter, powered by renewable energy, and solar-powered cooling in the summer, providing much-needed relief to our otherwise hot and stuffy production environment. Groundwork East’s assessment estimated that the combined changes would be more energy-efficient and would utilise the available onsite solar-generated electricity more cost-effectively than our current gas setup. We were thrilled!

Some key numbers:

• The new Air Source Heat Pump system is projected to reduce carbon emissions by 2.6 tCO² annually.
• There’s a projected energy saving of around 30,800 kWh per annum despite adding summer cooling in the Production Unit

With the plan in place, the challenge shifted to implementing the project without disrupting our live operations and daily production output. King’s Cooling Solutions went above and beyond, working evenings and weekends where needed to ensure the installation was completed on time, with minimal disruption to our daily production. In just over a month, our new sustainable heat system was up and running.

Fast forward to today, and our team is enjoying the winter warmth of our fantastic new system, all powered by self-generated solar power and 100% REGO certified renewable electricity.

We’ve also completed a secondary project at our ancillary warehouse, installing a suspended ASHP cassette system that runs entirely on renewable energy.

Our commitment

The journey to this point has been time-consuming and at times challenging, but was it worth it? Absolutely! We’re incredibly proud to continue to operate a zero-emissions facility (under Scope 1 and 2) in Bury St Edmunds. This accomplishment reinforces our commitment to staying ahead in our journey toward net-zero.

Curious about how sustainability drives our work at Precision? Explore our journey so far on our transition pathway to become a net-zero operation and discover how our commitment to green practices shapes the marketing solutions we deliver. Sustainability isn’t just a goal—it’s at the core of every project we undertake, from strategy to execution. Connect with us today to learn how we can help your business lead the way in sustainable marketing.