MKM has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable practices by becoming one of the latest businesses to pledge support to the Construction Leadership Council’s CO2nstruct Zero initiative as a Business Champion.

CO2nstruct Zero brings together businesses from across and beyond the construction sector to deliver the change needed to reduce carbon use in construction. It is underpinned by nine priorities and includes a clear set of 28 metrics that enables Government and the sector to report, on a public quarterly basis, how the industry is performing.

As the UK’s leading independent builder’s merchant, MKM feels it is uniquely positioned at the heart of the construction supply chain to influence positive change among both its suppliers and customers. Becoming a CO2nstruct Zero Business Champion is the latest in a series of commitments made by the business to promote sustainable or carbon neutral practices.

MKM has recently invested in its first delivery vehicles powered by compressed natural gas in several of its branches nationwide, as well as piloting EV charging points across its network.

The business has also announced a series of partnerships to scale-up its Air Source Heat Pump offering – a key tool in the drive to clean-up home heating solutions.

MKM's business model, which sees each of its nearly 100 branches around the UK operate as independent businesses, also empowers individual branches to implement their own sustainability strategies, which so far have included the trial of PV solar panels for the branches to generate their own energy, the roll-out of electric forklift trucks and the introduction of mixed-recycling schemes.

Rachel Constable, Head of ESG at MKM, said: “The climate crisis is one of the most immediate threats facing humanity and the construction industry has a pivotal role to play in helping the UK meet its carbon reduction targets. It is clear that, if these targets are to be met, the sector must take a collaborative, joined-up approach; an approach which initiatives like CO2nstruct Zero can help facilitate.

“I am proud to say MKM is now a CO2nstruct Zero Business Champion. We are looking forward to working with our industry partners to deliver real and sustained change to the sector’s carbon outputs.”