Brewster Brothers: Case Study
Who is Brewster Brothers?
Brewster Brothers are a proud, long-established family business leading the way in sustainable waste solutions for Scotland’s construction industry. They provide a comprehensive range of recycled aggregates and sustainable waste management services, offering a one stop shop for resource recovery. Through recycling of construction, demolition, and excavation waste, Brewster Brothers transforms waste into their high quality recycled aggregates, helping their customers across the central belt reduce their environmental impact while benefiting from sustainable, quality products and services.
Brewster Brothers and sustainability
As a circular business with sustainability at the centre of their business operations one of their business objectives this year was to have a net zero plan, this is highlighted by Nicola Mearns, Senior Marketing Executive “having a net zero plan is essential to Brewster Brothers because sustainability is at the core of everything we do. As a circular business, we are committed to reducing carbon emissions, minimising waste, and promoting responsible use of resources in the Scottish Construction industry.” They also recognised the wider benefits having a net zero plan would bring; strengthens their commitment to innovation, investing in greener technology, ensuring they are continually improving their processes, and aligning with national climate goals.
How the Supporting the Net Zero Journey programme supported their net zero transition
Brewster Brothers recently participated in the Supporting the Net Zero Journey business support programme managed by the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Scottish Enterprise. Through participating in the programme Brewster Brothers gained a comprehensive understanding of their carbon footprint, gained insights into where their greatest environmental impacts lie and they were also able to identify the most effective actions for driving their net zero transition. Nicola emphasises how the programme also helped them prioritise their actions “this approach allows us to prioritise the most impactful reduction strategies, whether its optimising the fuel efficiency in our fleet, investing in renewable energy, or working with suppliers and customers to lower emissions across the entire supply chain.” The programme also enabled Brewster Brothers to collaborate with the other companies on the programme, helping them to gain different perspectives which ensured they added relevant and necessary content to the plan, identified potential challenges, and made sure their commitments are both ambitious and achievable.
With Brewster Brothers now having a net zero plan they not only expect a reduction in their carbon emissions and environmental impact but they also expect it to have a positive impact on their future plans, with cost efficiencies, and business growth. Nicola emphasises this “By systematically reducing our emissions, we will further enhance the sustainability of our operations, ensuring that our recycled aggregates and waste management services continue to offer low-carbon solutions to the construction industry. Looking ahead, our net zero strategy will guide our future investments, including expanding recycling capabilities, developing new products, and exploring self-sufficiency through solar energy.”
Through participating in the programme Brewster Brothers were able to receive valuable support and feedback to help them create a net zero plan which has clear actions and targets. By starting their net zero journey and having targets to work towards it not only reinforces their accountability and transparency but will also help demonstrate to their different stakeholders their commitment to taking climate action and making meaningful impact.
