微密圈

Nobody raises an eyebrow as the white Citro毛n Berlingo pulls up alongside LTS Refurbishment鈥檚 site in Belgravia at 10.30 on a Friday morning. But when the driver and his mate begin unloading, it鈥檚 clear something unusual is going on. The van looks no different from the outside, but rather than building supplies, it is delivering a mobile cafe, including fold-out table, seating, food, drinks, hot-water flask and toastie maker.

This is Andrew Pears鈥� Cafe Van, and for 18 months it has been touring construction sites in the South-east providing a welcome breather for workers 鈥� and more importantly, teaching them about sustainability. Pears is the founder of Kotuku, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes sustainable use of resources in construction. Two years ago, he hit on the idea of using two of the most familiar and comforting aspects of building sites 鈥� white vans and tea breaks 鈥� to convert workers to his cause.

鈥淭he van is integral to the concept. It helps us to quickly explain what we do,鈥� says Pears. 鈥淲e can actually turn up on site and engage workers in the sustainability agenda. We hope they will be inspired to change their daily habits and give more thought to reusing, recycling and substituting waste.鈥�

Pears secured a grant from the European Social Fund to buy the van and kit it out.

As well as the cafe equipment, it鈥檚 got a projector, a DVD player and a flip chart for the presentations. The government-funded organisation Envirowise provided extra funds to develop and run the project.

Pears smiles as he recalls his audiences鈥� first reactions when he and right-hand-man Markus Braun turned up at their workplace, breaking up their routine with gifts of food and drink. 鈥淎t first you can see them thinking: Who are these funny people coming here and giving us sandwiches?鈥�

At first you can see them thinking: Who are these funny people coming here and giving us sandwiches?

Andrew Pears

Today, Braun 鈥� Pears describes him as 鈥淛eeves to my Wooster鈥� 鈥� is working hard to dispel any misgivings with a constant supply of ham-and-cheese toasties. Meanwhile, the workers are watching Pears draw three different-sized skips on a flip chart. 鈥淓ach represents a different kind of waste,鈥� he tells the watching site workers as they pass the plate of toasties around the table. There are nine in the audience, a mix of labourers, electricians and . There鈥檚 the odd whisper and a laugh exchanged between them, but otherwise they鈥檙e focused.

Fitting the presentations into the working day was central to the Cafe Van concept. 鈥淭he two things small construction companies are short of are time and money,鈥� explains Pears. 鈥淪o we don鈥檛 charge anything and we try not to disrupt their work.鈥� Cafe Van visits each site three times. 鈥淏y the second time we are starting to communicate and at the third session we become good mates,鈥� he says.

Pears has first-hand experience of small construction firms: he ran his own for 16 years. He saw the waste produced on sites and decided to do something to reduce it. 鈥淚t was a bit of a mid-life crisis,鈥� he laughs.

As for the van itself, he admits that driving to and from sites is not the most eco-friendly of activities. 鈥淚 wanted to buy an electric van, but they cost 拢6,000 more. The van I bought is fuelled by liquid propane gas, which means its carbon emissions are as low as you can get. The van that became Cafe Van was the best practical environmental option.鈥�

The best practical environmental option or 鈥淏PEO鈥� is a mantra driven home by Pears. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about doing what you can in the circumstances,鈥� he says. At the end of each session, there is an open discussion. Today, head electrician Mark Haskins is asking all of the challenging questions. After the presentation, he says he鈥檚 enjoyed having Cafe Van around: 鈥淚t鈥檚 given me a better understanding of environmental issues. We鈥檙e mainly thinking about the work. Having these gentlemen here to say 鈥榟ang on鈥� is useful.鈥�