Modular Tom

Starrco blog - Go Green, Go Modular

In today's world of "going green," we at Starrco feel that companies from every industry need to accept that protecting the environment should be a standard business practice, not simply a sporadic act of corporate social responsibility.  This idea is outlined very thoroughly in "Modular Construction-A Greener Way to Build," by Tom Hardiman of Modular Building Institute.  Within his article, Hardiman does well to explain key points that show the advantages of "green-building" within the construction industry.  The same key points are very influential in the way Starrco approaches the design, engineering, and manufacturing of our modular offices, clean rooms, and other modular buildings. It is important to understand and expand upon those principles to encourage a strong adoption by builders everywhere.

At Starrco, we've committed to minimizing the amount impact that our operations have on the environment.  We find it essential to explore and share the findings related to not just the environmental effect of modular buildings construction, but the overall impact of the construction industry.  At this point, research into whether conventional construction or modular construction is more environmentally friendly is still in the preliminary stages.  However, it's important for us to share that research shows modular construction has a lower impact on the environment than does conventional construction. 

How?  Let's take into account the amount of vehicle use that is required for conventional construction projects, which leads to an increased amount of pollutants emitted into the air.  Because of simple logistics, the need for employee transportation and supply delivery is generally greater in conventional construction.  This differs greatly from our Starrco plant, for example, since our modular buildings are manufactured "off-site."  This begs the question, if we can eliminate unnecessary emissions, what else can be positively eliminated through use of modular construction?

To answer that question, we find it necessary to address the topic of reducing materials waste in landfills.  After all, if you've ever seen a conventional construction site, you're sure to discover plenty of dust, debris and other waste materials.  In Starrco facilities, you'd be hard-pressed to find those materials present during the manufacturing process of our modular office systems or other products.  The primary reason behind this is fairly simple: Starrco and other modular builders buy in bulk, which reveals the presence of excess material and allows for simultaneous projects.  And unlike conventional construction, excess modular material isn't discarded to waste.  Instead, excess is applied to other modular buildings projects, revealing the "zero-waste" advantage.  So at Starrco, this approach allows us to not only reduce materials waste in landfills, but we can complete more projects in less time.

As many in our industry do, we hope adoption of modular construction will only increase.  We have no doubt that the ever-present question, "Why modular?" is one that Starrco will always need to be able to answer.  And among others, the environmental benefit is an advantage that we are very proud of.  Further, we realize that reducing environmental impact and minimizing landfill waste are simply too significant to ignore as we look to the future of the construction industry.  Nevertheless, it will be increasingly important for us at Starrco and other members of the construction industry, modular and conventional, to continue our education and motivation toward preserving the environment through a cleaner, more efficient way to build.

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Modular Tom

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