Sustainability: something we are all too aware of, but what does it mean in practice and what are the implications for the future?

I suspect these questions are exercising a lot of minds at the moment given current government targets and the drive by industry to attain them. Undoubtedly the matter has been thought about for many years and there are dramatic signs of progress, with wind farms, solar panels and electric cars perhaps the most prominent examples. Nearer to home the manufacturers and suppliers of lift equipment are actively looking at ways to reduce carbon emissions and examine the embodied carbon of products and services, while trying to arrive at meaningful ways of quantifying and measuring the impact they have on the environment and the means of sustainability.

I think most would agree that sustainability is something we really don’t have a full understanding of in terms of measurement and impact assessment, and for many in the construction and service industries it is a new area where we are yet to fully develop the tools and means of defining the measurable criteria we should apply to all aspects of what we make and do.

In spite of our being at the early stages of what will undoubtedly be a long and continuous journey, we can readily grasp the concepts and start to assess the implications of what’s ahead. This process leads me to questioning some of the things we do now and whether there is room to start making changes at a fundamental level to reduce material content in lift manufacture. One item that would be high on my list is the overbalance of lifts. Why are lifts balanced at 50% or thereabouts? I can perhaps understand the original thinking in terms of standardising production and seeking to maintain a maximum 50% out of balance condition, which may lead to a reduced machine size, but given the weight involved I’m not sold on the argument. We know, especially with passenger lifts, the only time they are fully loaded is when they are tested.