Looking for a green removal company?

These days, almost everything that we do is in some way judged by its green-credentials and, of course, moving house is no different. The drives are often long, involving gas-guzzling vans, and there are plenty of environmentally unfriendly packing materials involved. So, you could be forgiven for believing that there is no such thing as an eco-friendly move. Yet, a handful of removals companies are now taking ecological impact into account and seeking to lessen their carbon footprint by becoming environmentally-friendly. But, how can you do your bit? And, what do you look for in your remover?

Green business expert Keith Farnish believes that you should think more laterally if you want to cut the carbon impact of your move.

“The move itself a very small part of the pie,” he says. “Obviously the most sustainable thing is not to do it at all, or at least as infrequently as possible. In the event that it is necessary then reduce the amount of stuff you take with you - largely by not accumulating it in the first place - and the distance you travel. Packaging and boxes are pretty low down the list in terms of reducing overall impact.”

You can follow Farnish’s theory by making sure you have rid yourself of anything you don’t really need in your new home. T-shirts you have not worn this year can go to the charity shop, as can those pans and plates that lurk at the back of your cupboards.

Reducing the effect of the drive

“There is one of our members, OIS Removals, who operates on a green ticket,” says Martin Rose of the National Guild of Removers and Storers.

“But it is not that easy to be environmentally-friendly. Most removals are made over a short distance. About 80% are within 10 miles. Most of the time is spent outside people’s houses loading or unloading, so not much can be done there.”

What is being done is mostly in the small domestic moves category, with businesses like London-based OIS using Liquid Petroleum Gas-powered (LPG) vehicles instead of the traditional diesel van, but no one has yet come up with a green and clean solution for the full-sized removals van that a large family home may require, as Jonathan Murray of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership points out.

“There are electric vehicles around at the moment but only up to 7.5tonnes, which are really inner city delivery vehicles,” he says. “We are doing work on HGVs at the moment, but that is research in its very early stages. The key thing for a consumer to focus on would be the fuel and whether they are using biofuels or, potentially, biomethane but that is as far as you can go at the moment. The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) has the CO2 emmission rating of vehicles listed on its website, which may be useful in terms of selecting a company by the van they are using.”

Our advice then is, firstly, to reduce the size of your move and then, if you are moving a long distance, try to find a company which uses vehicles with low emmissions.