Net Zero Week 2026 (4–10 July) is the UK's official national awareness week for climate action, backed by government and industry. This year, with Balfour Beatty as principal sponsor, the focus is squarely on credible delivery: moving beyond pledges and pilots to scaling solutions that make a measurable difference on the ground.
For tier one contractors and their supply chain, that challenge is very real. Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions don't just come from the big infrastructure - they come from the small, everyday decisions made on every site. It's the portable combustion generator powering dozens of hand tools, the fuel-powered submersible pump, the diesel tower lights running near a sensitive habitat. These are the emissions that are hardest to track, and often the last to be addressed.
Instagrid is helping to change that.
The gap in every decarbonisation plan
Large-scale energy infrastructure - battery energy storage systems (BESS), energy management systems, solar and hydrogen powered infrastructure - gets the attention. But portable power for mobile equipment remains relatively untouched on many plans. Pumps, breakers, grinders, monitoring stations, power tools: these need reliable, deployable power at dispersed locations, often far from the main supply.
For decades, the answer has been a small combustion generator. Noisy. Requiring fuel logistics, spill kits and long cable runs. Producing exhaust fumes in confined spaces, near water, close to wildlife and not compatible with the net zero commitments that tier one contractors are now contractually required to deliver.
But things are changing - two years on from launch, Instagrid GO is now tried, tested and proven as a direct replacement for small generators — delivering better performance without the noise, fumes or fuel, and with commercial benefits too.
What credible delivery looks like in practice
Balfour Beatty, one of the UK's largest construction and infrastructure providers and principal sponsor of Net Zero Week 2026, was an early adopter of Instagrid’s portable power systems. Back in 2024 the Instagrid team captured its use case on the A61 Old Mill Bridge project in Barnsley, with the Balfour Beatty team using Instagrid GO units to power submersible pumps for drainage, handheld breakers on pile cap removal, water monitoring stations in environmentally sensitive zones, and ‘topping up’ solar-powered CCTV units during darker winter months.
Working over and around water, near bat colonies and wildlife habitats, silent and zero-emissions-at-point-of-use operation was not a preference - it was a requirement.
Darren Brelsford, Balfour Beatty’s Works Manager on the project, said: "Instagrid's portable battery-based power pack provides a viable alternative to small, portable generators, eliminating a reliance on fossil fuels and plant nappies, whilst providing a silent and emission-free solution to smaller power loads."
No trailing cables. No plant nappies. No generator noise when the breaker was idling. And at the end of each day, units are charged overnight in the site compound and ready for the next morning.
The scale of impact
This is not a single-site success story. To-date Instagrid has sold over 60,000 units globally. Customers worldwide have helped to collectively avoid 1 million tonnes of potential CO2e emissions by switching from combustion generators - the equivalent of 281 wind turbines running for a year. A further 401 tonnes of NOX and 310,457 tonnes of localised CO emissions at the point of work have been avoided. Across the world an estimated 180,000 professionals are now working in healthier, quieter conditions as a result.
Independently tested by TÜV NORD, Instagrid solutions produce up to 94% fewer greenhouse gases over their lifetime than a comparable combustion generator. And with a target of avoiding a further 23 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030, in line with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) – we’re just getting started!
The detail behind these numbers and more can be found in our impact report.
Rental companies leading the way
Net zero goals often depend on a supportive supply chain - with UK contractors reliant on their suppliers’ brining innovations to market and making available the thousands who need them. And here in the UK - the Rental Sector is driving adoption at scale.
In 2025, Sunbelt Rentals made the country's largest single investment (to-date) in Instagrid technology. They are joined by Travis Perkins Hire, Speedy Hire, Brandon Hire Station, GAP, Charles Wilson, Smiths and GO HIRE to name just a few - all investing in Instagrid to meet fleet sustainability targets and customer demand for cleaner site solutions.
The European Rental Association recognised this momentum in June 2026, naming Instagrid ONE and GO the European Rental Product of the Year - singled out for scalability, compatibility with thousands of corded tools and equipment, enhanced site safety, and proven environmental impact.
Kiloutou (France), one of Europe's largest rental businesses, enabled its customers to avoid approximately 700 tonnes of CO2e in 2025 alone by adding Instagrid portable power supply to their fleet.
"Instagrid is not just a mobile energy provider. They are a strategic partner helping us measure and reduce our environmental impact. Thanks to them, we are accelerating our transition." Says Audrey Miclard, Sustainability Manager, Kiloutou
Net Zero Week is the right moment to act
The conversation during Net Zero Week 2026 will focus on what credible delivery looks like. For contractors and hire companies, that means addressing every source of emissions - including the portable ones.
The tools to do it exist now. No noise. No fumes. No fuel logistics. Just reliable, clean portable power, available through the UK's leading hire networks.
Ready to make the switch? Find your nearest rental partner and start powering your sites more sustainably today.
Or for more info on Net Zero week visit - Net Zero Week 2026 (4-10 July)