Solar power supplied 67% of all electricity used in February this year at three of leading South African truck body and trailer building company, Serco’s factories and offices in South Africa.

And Serco’s goal is to push that figure up to 75% following further investment to raise the ratio even higher in the medium to long term.

Sustainability a priority

Serco CEO Clinton Holcroft said environmental sustainability was a priority for his company.

‘’We believe that businesses have a critical role to play in addressing environmental challenges. Our adoption of solar power is a testament to our dedication to sustainable manufacturing and our responsibility towards the planet,” said Holcroft.

Serco has installed solar at its three main production facilities – Durban was first, followed by Johannesburg and recently Cape Town.

The initiatives are part of Serco’s drive to reduce its impact on the environment and go hand-in- hand with other “greening developments” including the recycling of paper and plastic it uses and the use of rainwater in its wash bays.

The green machine approach complements the elevated environmental friendliness of the company’s award-winning Protec Steel Frostliner refrigerated vehicles which through improved thermal efficiency use less diesel to power the cooler units thus reducing carbon emissions. Recent heatwaves throughout the county have heightened the importance of an insulated body that maintains temperature efficiently. 

Expansion goals

“We still have some work to do to reach the 75% mark, but we’ve made really  good  progress  with  that  priority  which  we  set  for  ourselves,” he said. “This has included replacing high energy machinery with more efficient equipment, upgrading factory and office lighting to LED lights, and optimising the solar panels at our factories. It’s really an ongoing process.”