Colas has added to its National Highways Sector Scheme tally with accreditation under scheme number 18 for the natural environment and landscape including ecology.
This achievement puts the contractor in prime place to take on roadside environmental works around the UK, areas which contribute a great deal to the country’s biodiversity.
Highways England alone is estimated to be responsible for more than 50 million trees and shrubs along with substantial grassland alongside its road routes. Local government can more than match those numbers and effectively has its own roadside parkland estate that needs to be cared for and contained.
The NHSS accreditation confirms that Colas and its personnel are qualified to take good care of that environment, its horticulture and wildlife in a manner that is safe to its employees and members of the public.
NHSS 18 activities are wide-ranging and include weed control, application of pesticides, grass and wildflower seeding, tree pruning and other arboriculture and mechanical vegetation removal.
“This latest accreditation underlines that Colas is able directly to undertake all road related works,” said Colas quality manager Lau Vlaar. “We are lucky to have a grounds maintenance team with such a wealth of experience in caring for the environment and ecology.”
“Colas offers a diverse range of solutions, aiming to self-deliver as much of our work as possible rather than using subcontractors. External validation under the National Highways Sector Scheme has huge added value in providing assurance that we have a deep understanding of all the services we offer.”
The NHSS 18 accreditation brings the number of sector schemes in the Colas armoury to 14. Before Christmas, the contractor already achieved certification for the new National Highways Sector Scheme 30, which relates to the installation, maintenance and repair of modular paving, and was one of the first contractors in the country to do so. “With NHSS 18 we can now demonstrate even more fully the broad range of services we offer,” Vlaar said.