Working with subcontractors and suppliers, the firm used hydrogenated vegetable oil fuel for machinery, recycled materials and PV power for site cabins over the course of the 24-month build.

Thanks to the reduction in emissions from the use of HVO at Pentre Awel, Bouygues UK has committed to use green fuel to power all of its building sites across the country.

Work on zone 1 of Llanelli’s Pentre Awel development known as ‘Canolfan’ has been independently certified by Gaia, a Carmarthenshire-based firm that helps to identify, monitor and reduce power consumption, using AI and a range of sensors.

Since the start of the Canolfan project over 450 tonnes of carbon emissions have been saved.

The Canolfan Pentre Awel project team targeted 24 specific initiatives to help reduce emissions, waste and energy on the project.

Early into the development, solar-powered site offices and cabins were installed, and when not powered by the sun, they were run by a HVO-powered generator. The site’s CCTV cameras were also powered by solar.

Dyfed Steels provided the reinforcement bar for the project’s foundations which has 98% recycled content, and the structural steel for the building which has 80% recycled content, was supplied by Shufflebottom.

When excavating to lay the foundations, soil from the surface of the site was also taken to a local recycling facility where the material was segregated, treated and reused – reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

Canolfan forms part of the broader Pentre Awel development which will integrate life science and business innovation, community healthcare and modern leisure facilities at the 83-acre Delta Lakes site on the Llanelli coastline.

It is part-funded by the Swansea Bay City Deal (£40m) and is the largest regeneration scheme in south west Wales.

Phillipe Bernard, Chair and CEO of Bouygues UK, said: “I commend the project team’s efforts in significantly reducing carbon emissions at the Pentre Awel project. This achievement shows that sustainable construction can be achieved.

“We are very proud that due to the success achieved with the use of HVO at Pentre Awel, we are now mandating the use of sustainably-certified HVO at all our sites across the UK.”

As well as Shufflebottom and Dyfed Steels, other local companies contracted to work on Pentre Awel include: Green4Wales, Redsix Partnership, Gavin Griffiths Group, Davies Crane Hire, Dyfed Recycling Services and Owen Haulage.