Demolition and construction may not be the forerunners in eco-friendly living and reduction of environmental footprints, but there are still people in the industry who care. People in crane design have thought about ways to reduce their products' environmental impact. Here are just a few of the ways that new innovations are starting to make eco-friendly crane use more of a possibility.

1. Lightweight construction

One of the things that tends to use up a lot of fuel in a crane's life is transportation since the crane may find itself frequently moving long distances between jobs. Traditionally, crane design has focused more on sturdiness, durability, and stability, but recent designs use techniques that retain structural soundness and durability while also making transportation easier and less costly. (This is, of course, also great news for whoever has to pay for transportation fuel, as it can help them save money.)

2. Fuel use and pollution reduction

Some people are also concerned about the amount of fuel used by construction machines. It's possible, as some designers have discovered, to build in features such as an auto-off engine functionality that reduces idling time by turning off the engine if allowed to idle for more than a certain amount of time. In addition, cleaning up the emissions produced by the machine itself can make the whole operation more eco-friendly. Fewer emissions can both reduce the machine's impact on the environment as a whole (throughout its lifetime) and make it safer for working near fragile ecosystems that may be especially sensitive to emissions.

3. Eco-friendly manufacturing

Building construction equipment is another industry whose first concern isn't usually eco-friendliness. But recently, some innovators have started to develop ideas for how to reduce the impact of production itself. Sourcing parts and materials from companies that produced or mined them sustainably is one important factor; reducing emissions and pollution during production is also important, and making the whole process faster and more time-efficient can also make it more energy-efficient, which is another way to reduce the impact of producing each crane. 

Innovations in these three areas aren't the industry standard yet, but they can be the future of cranes (and spread to construction equipment in general) if there's enough support. If you're in the market for a rental crane, you can do your part by giving preference to any cranes that are fuel-efficient, lightweight, and easy to transport or otherwise more eco-friendly than their counterparts.