Neil is TR Group’s second longest serving staff member, just a few weeks behind Andrew Carpenter, the company’s Managing Director. Neil’s a family man and the General Manager in Strategic Development for both TR Group and Master Drive Services. He sees to it that the company’s top priorities are trucks, safety, people, and the environment.
Water Conservation at TR Group – The Wash Bay Initiative
Here at TR Group, we are in the early days of our journey to reduce our impact on the environment. We have some clear plans and goals to work through, but one of our first initiatives was water conservation on our vehicle washes – something visible to our team and customers that we hope will help change how people think about our natural resources and how we use them. The idea was simple; gather rainwater off the roof and reuse it to wash trucks rather than using town supply water. In doing so, we avoid using drinking quality water when rainwater works perfectly as a substitute.
The two key points that started the initiative:
- When we have our regular water shortages in Auckland, there are limitations placed on water use which prompted us to think about how we use water in the business. Using drinking quality water to wash trucks doesn’t make a lot of sense when rainwater runs into the drains.
- One of the team from our Sustainability Council saw a documentary on a young couple travelling through Africa. A local commented that “people in Europe are so rich they use drinking water to flush their toilet”. A line like that got us thinking that there had to be a better way than using drinking water to wash our trucks.
As a business, we want to make a difference in people’s lives and show leadership in our industry. The Auckland wash project is a small, but visible, start on our sustainability journey, an initiative that we will roll out across the rest of our branch network.
As we continue to address waste and expand our sustainability efforts, we encourage you to do the same and are happy to share our journey and learnings with anyone who is interested.
A better future for us all.
