It’s home to nesting skylarks, nearly 90 species of wild flowers and can capture enough rain water to potentially keep B shift singing long into their morning shower. Oh and Kanes Foods’s green factory may also be the ultimate riposte to that old chestnut about manufacturing sites being all dark, Satanic mills.
“We wanted to create a factory that invites you to go in rather than a more traditional metal-clad, industrial environment that is not especially inspiring,” says Clive Champion, project and engineering director at Kanes Foods manufacturer of chilled pre-packed salads, stir-fry noodles and other fresh food products.
It sounds like a line straight out of TV show, Grand Designs. And much like the avant garde architectural efforts profiled by Kevin McCloud, this project has been as much a labour of love as a bid to create a functional building. Work began in 2009 when Kanes was outgrowing its old production area and sought a new home that could facilitate the quality gains in terms of the consistency and shelf life of its final salad.
“The purpose of the building in the first instance was to produce an environment where we can get the right state of the art equipment to enhance product quality,” says Champion. “While doing that it gave us an opportunity to build something more in tune with the local landscape, a building with environmental features that would be somewhere our workforce would want to work in – the holistic approach was important.”
Champion and the team have delivered to stunning effect as McCloud might put it. The domed 8,000 square metre wild flower roof blends effortlessly into the rolling Cotswold countryside. Floor to ceiling glass panels bring natural light streaming into the corridors within. And a separate plant room with its own grass roof nestles like an adoring child beneath its mother’s apron at the factory’s main entrance.
Storm water recycling and the energy saving walls
The impressive aesthetics are backed up by an arsenal of environmental performance enhancing features within explains Champion. “If you start from the top of the building, you have got the biodiverse roof. That gives us rainwater retention, additional insulation and noise attenuation. It also increases the anticipated life of the metallic roof structure because it protects it from the elements.”
Stormwater, in plentiful supply this winter, seeps through the roof’s recycled brick and peat substrate it is either collected in subterranean storage tanks. From here it is either used for staff amenities or to top up water levels at the nearby wildlife habitat, created as part of the overall project. “We don’t use the stormwater as part of the production process,” Champion says. “That’s because we already recycle 1,250 tonnes of water on site each day. Bringing that water to a quality standard suitable for food production requires other energy inputs. You don’t need to do that when it’s being used for amenities so by using the run off this way we avoid unnecessary energy use.”
It’s a dedication to detail apparent throughout the eco-factory’s build. The structure was lovingly designed by Champion and the team in-house, took three years in the making and cost £30m in self-funded investment capital. “We’ve had all the same set of emotions that go with building your own house, “he explains.“It was very important it was going to be the best it could be. We tried very much not to compromise on anything. That increased the pressure, but to have compromised would have been our loss.”
Determination has paid dividends. The green roof is rich in hidden eco gems Champion explains: “There are a set of photovoltaic panels on the roof that provide enough power for the circulation pumps on the geothermal heat pump circuits inside.” For those of you who don’t speak carbon neutral, that’s a set of pumps that can draw heat from the ground or dispense excess warmth into it as part of the heating or cooling process. Kanes uses the technology to cool specialist salad processing equipment as well as computer server rooms. LED lighting was also incorporated.
Another energy saver lurks within the factory’s four walls adds Champion. “We’ve used hemcrete on the building’s outer envelope, which is a terrific insulator. Our business revolves around chilled and temperature controlled areas so thermal gain is something we want to try and avoid. The better our insulation then the less energy inputs in our manufacturing process.” Hemcrete combines natural plant hemp with a lime mix and is what all good eco warriors would surely build their houses from were they to tire of camping out in the woods. As well as being an outstanding insulator, the material has a knack for capturing excess carbon and can help reduce your total footprint.
How the savings stack up
The features stack up to some significant energy savings. Energy required for refrigeration has increased 40% since opening of the eco-factory decked out with state-of-the art plant. Yet green features mean proportional energy use across the Kanes site has fallen by 20%. The roof is on the right path to paying back on its £30m price tag, a figure which includes the cost of furnishing the eco-factory with new plant.
But despite the savings, you’d be misguided to go into building a grass roof as a purely money saving exercise advises Champion. “I’d like to emphasise that because it was such a complex building a lot of the features were difficult to model to the nth degree...We went for it anyway because we felt it was right. Of course we didn’t go down this route just because we could, it had to stack up commercially and we want to see a payback. But it’s driven by more than just that, it’s trying to get things right and move the industry forward.”
And the principled path has its perks. Quality and consistency of finished salad packs has improved and manufacturing efficiency is flourishing under the green roof. In part that’s down to impressive new plant such as dynamic weigh feed systems, ultrasonic pack sealing and infra-red optical sorting of products. But there’s also a human factor says Champion. “A lot of people just really couldn’t wait to get up here when we built the factory. There was emphasis on creating a building where our employees would be happy to work in. Happier people are more able to apply positive focus to the tasks in hand and enhance product quality.”
Sentiments that are backed up by science: employees working in environments showing a 13% improvement in well being and 8% more productive according to a report by The Human Spaces. Customers have also been caught up in the factory’s feel good factor with one supermarket using the site as a beacon of best practice to other suppliers. Having an area fit for a five-a-side football pitch on your roof has also heightened engagement with the local community and crucially, it’s a great way to get nearby school children interested in a manufacturing plant as well as the engineering behind it.
So following your environmental principles isn’t a purely idealistic pursuit: it’s also a universally profitable one. That’s just the birds and the bees, as anyone who’s been up on the Kaynes roof in mid-summer would testify. A green roof isn’t going to be for everyone. Yet if you’ve got the vision, focus and financial freedom then when this old world is getting you down there really is a lot to be said for getting up on the roof.
“It is a labour of love,” enthuses Champion. “There are the trials of going through the planning and development process and seeing build grind to a halt when the site covered in snow and everything is frozen. But ultimately when you look up at the factory you get the satisfaction of knowing you’ve made a positive contribution. You as a manufacturer are making a difference.”
Green with envy? The case for putting a green roof on your factory
How much will it cost? Kanes’ roof cost around £37.50 per m2. The exact price will depend on the type and size of green roof you go for says the roof’s supplier, Sky Garden. There are multiple options: extensive, intensive, a mixture of both or biodiverse. Extensive roofs have a thinner layer of substrate (2-10cm), are lighter and require less maintenance. Intensive roofs are thicker (>20cm) heavier, and store more water thanks to the extra foliage. However, your lawn will require more watering and feeding as a quid pro quo for all that lush grass. Biodiverse roofs are similar in composition to an extensive roof but designed to create a habitat for particular flora or fauna.
What are the direct energy saving benefits?
Plentiful and perennial savings on your energy bills according to the Green Roof Centre (GRF) – national centre of excellence for green roofs and spin-off of the University of Sheffield. Green roofs help keep you warm in the winter through improved insulation and stay cool in the summer as you avoid the meltdown from sun sapping tiles or asphalt. Green roofed buildings cut daily air conditioning use during the summer by more than 75% according to Canadian research (http://tinyurl.com/hafmex7). Some turf on top can also help keep the noise down with reductions of up to 50 decibels reported. Another big bonus is stormwater management with roofs providing a natural alternative to bursting the local sewer system in the April showers. Green roofs can reduce storm water run-off by up to 90% according to the GRF. Soils slowly absorb a downpour rather than dumping it off a building in one fell swoop. Some of the water provides a nice drink for the plants and the rest filters through to channels beneath the soil. From here it can be stored on site and used when required. Kanes reports estimated water saving of more than two million litres a year
And the indirect benefits?
Everything from a happier, more productive workforce to a leftfield solution to the skills crisis is cited by exponents. There’s plentiful academic research shows fusing Mother Nature with the workplace heightens our mood and wellbeing (http://tinyurl.com/jakunkr). And if research shows patients recuperate faster in hospital rooms overlooking green space then think what a verdant lawn could do for an operator’s application on an otherwise drab and dreary January morning? As a PR tool, green roofs are a paved in gold. They’ll showcase your business’s environmental values and build goodwill with local communities. And a grass roof is a great conversation starter for engagement programmes with local schools. After-all out of small seeds...
Do I need a brand new building? No, green roofs can be retrofitted to existing factories or form part of a new facility. With either root, you’ll need to calculate the extra weight of all that turf into the structural load design. If you retrofit then you might need additional load support.
How much maintenance is involved? Kanes’ performs two major maintenance activities. Once in the spring to weed unwanted plants and in the autumn to cut back excess growth. Exact maintenance is bespoke to your roof type and your green roof installer can identify the optimum schedule.
What are the planning regs and do I get a subsidy for doing this? Planning permission is not usually required when placing a green roof on existing buildings. However, the best bet is to contact your local planning department. There are no incentives available for green roofs in the UK. Champion, of Kanes, describes their local authority planners (Wychavon District Council) as “very understanding”.
How long will it last? Most grass roof installers offer 15-25 year guarantees on waterproofing of roofs. Cover is also available to protect the plants in your lawn if you are not manufacturing’s answer to Monty Don.
Is it a safety risk? Like anything else on site, it depends how you use it. Roofs will require regular access for inspection purposes but you will only need fall arrest equipment if treading within two metres of the edge. Implement risk assessments and training for anyone who wants to enjoy the view.
More info available at: www.sky-garden.co.uk/
