Lead with ESG

A major update to our strategy in launching Sunbelt 3.0 was the inclusion, for the first time, of ESG as an actionable component.  Responsible sustainability has always been important to the Group and part of our activities day-to-day, but now it is formally embedded into our strategy for the benefit of our people, customers, suppliers, communities and investors, as well as optimising the structural benefits ESG brings to rental.

This is an important element in what we mean by Ambition with Purpose for Sunbelt 3.0.  We believe there are enormous environmental benefits associated with rental versus ownership at all stages of the business life cycle, from the supply chain, to operations, customer use and end of life of equipment.  Significant environmental benefits accrue when many customers rent one piece of well-maintained and safe equipment only when they need it, as opposed to multiple customers purchasing that same piece of equipment, using it a few times, then disposing of it when it becomes obsolete or no longer needed.  This is a prime example of the sharing economy.  Increased rental of shared assets reduces the number of machines that need to be manufactured with the benefit of lower consumption of raw materials, fewer manufacturing facilities and hence, lower energy requirements, and fewer assets to be disposed of at end of life.

Our rental equipment is also amongst the lowest carbon emitting available.  As we renew our rental equipment and take advantage of the latest technology, we will be able to expand our offering of low carbon solutions to our customers.  We have made a commitment to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 carbon intensity by 35% by 2030 and by 15% during Sunbelt 3.0.  We have made good progress with 2022/23 carbon intensity 30% lower than the baseline of 2017/18 and further reductions will come, principally from environmental efficiencies in our transportation fleet and the facilities we operate.  

From a social perspective, our people are our top priority.  Ours is a culture committed to employee safety, engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion, and providing a Leading / Living Wage. Putting our people first allows them to give us enormous competitive advantage and our skilled workforce is instrumental to the Group’s long-term success.  

As an essential service provider, we support our customers and communities, whether investing in the communities in which our people live and work, participating with first responders for emergencies, or natural disaster response such as hurricane relief.   

Read more about our ESG strategy