Halifax building firm DLE Construction Ltd wins national award for sustainability

DLE Construction Ltd picked up the accolade at the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) 2023 national Master Builder Awards, sponsored by Isuzu.

The awards recognise excellence in the UK’s small and medium-sized construction companies and are run by the FMB, the largest trade association in the UK construction sector.

DLE won the Sustainability prize after impressing the judges with the way they worked with their clients and the architect to build a sustainable family home that has minimal impact on the surrounding environment.

The property has a modern, fully open-plan living area which is uniquely designed to capture natural light, while it also incorporates the latest eco-technologies including a ground-source heat pump with solar PV and battery storage, a heat recovery system and solar thermal panels, which feed into an underfloor heating system, a rainwater harvesting system for the toilets, triple-glazed Velfac windows and oversized wall, floor and roof insulation.

DLE completed the project from start to finish using its own highly skilled in-house team of tradesmen, creating an A-rated EPC home that has minimal energy bills.

All excavation waste was retained on site to reuse for landscaping the property’s exterior, which included a large walled vegetable garden, while construction waste, such as packaging, plastics, wood and metals was separated out and recycled in local facilities.

The building stone was purchased from a local quarry, reducing the carbon footprint of transportation, and all the suppliers were locally based, again reducing transportation costs.

DLE Construction Director David Ellis said: “It’s brilliant. This is the award to win because going forward to the future, this is the way building is going and we like to be ahead of the game and set the standard for people to follow. Improving sustainability is becoming the new norm in building.”

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB commented “Ensuring that building and construction projects are as environmentally sustainable as possible has never been more important, and DLE Construction is setting the standard high.

"Their delivery of top quality work, while making innovative use of the latest environmentally friendly technology, makes them a prime example of what it means to be a Master Builder.