The family business is the only north east firm to be shortlisted in the ‘Circular Scotland’ category of the prestigious awards scheme, which champions the link between economic success and environmental sustainability. The Circular Scotland category highlights the efforts of businesses to re-purpose resources, extending their lifespan, and diverting materials from landfill.

KR Group’s leadership team recognise the fundamental role that the construction and engineering sectors play in fostering a circular economy, and supporting the journey to net zero. This dedication to reducing the pressure on the planet’s resources has already been recognised by the international PAS2060 and ISO14001 accreditations.

In 2022, amid growing concerns regarding the volume of cladding waste reaching landfill, and following a project with Zero Waste Scotland, KR Group founded KR Bon Reduction - a programme dedicated to repurposing used cladding panels and other construction materials, in a bid to reduce the amount of construction waste going to landfill, and lessen the reliance on finite raw materials.

By 2026 the KR Bon Reduction Project aims to:

• Prevent  7736 tons of CO2Eq emissions
• Divert 2653 tons of waste from landfill
• Repurpose 202,500 m2 of waste cladding panel PIR board

In line with the UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting, the carbon-neutral firm also tracks and measures scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, while implementing measures to mitigate these year-on-year.

KR Group has embedded innovative measures to reduce consumption of resources right across business operations, from procurement to construction on-site.

These include:

• The installation of solar PV panels and EV charging points at their headquarters in Aberdeenshire,
• Reviewing vehicle fleet and usage,
• Reusing and reducing the volume of waste sent to landfill,
• Improving the biodiversity of the surrounding area,
• Investing in R&D to create new solutions to current challenges
• Using recyclable and reusable packaging and harnessing natural resources with a rainwater harvesting system.

Ellen Delph, KR Bon project manager, will be discussing the KR Bon project, and their experiences of material reuse at the Energy Transition Zone (ETZ) property supply chain workshop on 14 November.

She welcomed the industry recognition, saying: “We are delighted to reach the finals of the VIBES Awards. Recognised by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and other leading environmental and business agencies, it’s extremely gratifying to even be short-listed in such great company. At KR Group, it’s important to us that we run the business with integrity, and strive to do what’s best for our community, locally and globally. The team are proud of what we’ve achieved so far with our environmental goals, and we will continue to work towards improvements, year on year.”

KR Group business director, Nicola Fraser, added: “We are genuinely thrilled to be short-listed for the Circular Scotland category of the VIBES awards. The fact that we are being counted among such forward-thinking businesses is a real endorsement of what we have achieved so far, and will inspire us to re-double our efforts going forward. We look forward to the final, and wish our fellow nominees the best of luck!”

KR Group will be attending the VIBES awards on November 12th in Glasgow. SEPA’s chair, Lisa Tennant, will make the final decision alongside Robbie Kernahan, director green economy, NatureScot and Ian Gulland, CEO Zero Waste Scotland on the Head Judging Panel.