Milestone Infrastructure drives sustainability and social value

Milestone Infrastructure, a part of M Group Services’ Transport Division, is the UK’s leading highways maintenance provider, maintaining a road network which spans 51,000km – the equivalent distance of travelling 1.5 times around the planet.

Working with public and private sector clients to design and build complex civil engineering projects, Milestone plays a critical role in maintaining and improving the nation’s transport infrastructure with the aim of delivering safer, greener highways for all.

Its multi-year highways maintenance contracts typically include maintaining streetlights, undertaking emergency maintenance, cleaning and emptying gullies and drains, repairing potholes, winter maintenance and maintaining carriageways, footways, bridges and verges. Recent contract wins include working alongside Wiltshire, Central Bedfordshire and Suffolk Councils.

Recognising the importance of proactively tackling the climate emergency in partnership with its clients, Milestone is committed to protecting biodiversity and using the resources available in a sustainable way to minimise the impact of its operations, leaving a lasting, positive legacy for the communities in which it operates.

To achieve this, Milestone has set itself the ambitious, yet deliverable target of being net zero carbon throughout its operations, including its supply chain, by 2040 and the company is on track to make a 40% reduction in carbon by 2025.

Milestone’s environmental strategy sets out five core areas where it can deliver tangible improvements through its activities: low carbon, biodiversity, sustainable design, environmental compliance and the circular economy. And, in its quest to achieve net zero, Milestone has turned to innovative solutions to drive its sustainable practices.

The business is moving away from traditional diesel and making use of hydro treated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel, electric vehicles and plant which are helping the business significantly reduce carbon emissions on site and trial alternative fuels in its operation. Milestone piloted Multevo’s Hydrovo pothole filling machine on its Hampshire Highways contract, using a combination of HVO and hydrogen for power.

Milestone also has an award-winning agreement with OCL Regeneration to supply its current and future clients with OCL’s industry-leading highways recycling and circular economy solution nationwide.

OCL’s approach and network of facilities, coupled with Milestone’s asset management and design expertise will enable 100% of the waste produced through highways maintenance to be recycled into new aggregates, surfacing materials and low carbon concretes.

Milestone and OCL have jointly recycled over 30,000 tonnes of highway waste, saving more than 500 tonnes of carbon over the past year alone.

This means less reliance on virgin materials, a reduction in cost associated with material procurement and transport, more sustainable asphalt waste recycling and a more significant contribution to local government carbon net zero targets.

These are just some examples that highlight why Milestone has been recognised by the Department for Business & Trade to become a Co2nstructZero Business Champion. This accolade has been granted in recognition of the role Milestone has to play in contributing to the UK Government’s target of reducing carbon emissions and meeting net zero by 2050. This achievement reflects the company’s work to reduce carbon emissions across its business and for its clients in the highways sector aligning with the CO2nstructZero priorities.

As well as its award-winning approach to protecting the environment, having won a Highways Award for Environmental sustainability and a clutch of Green Apple Awards for Environmental Best Practice, Milestone takes its responsibility for supporting the communities in which it operates just as seriously. Its local authority highways maintenance contracts teams work closely with councils and local stakeholders to benefit the local economy and engage with disadvantaged groups, including people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and care leavers, to offer employment and training opportunities.

Biodiversity Net Gain is one such approach to construction activities that leaves biodiversity and ecosystems in a better state than before and relies on the business and local community working together to preserve and protect habitats.

Carbon reduction and building social value are both essential elements of M Group Services’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets and, as part of a larger Group, Milestone’s approach is integral. M Group Services has been recognised as a global ESG leader by an independent, international risk ratings agency, Sustainalytics, receiving an ESG rating that’s in the top one per cent of global companies for its commitment to the environment and sustainability, managing the impact on and support for local communities.

Milestone’s environmental expertise enables the business to support its clients to achieve their own net zero targets and social commitments, while reducing costs and delivering safer, greener highways for all.