“In this era, with a more environmentally-conscious public
aware of the urgent need to limit their effects on climate change,
there is a growing appetite amongst consumers for more sustainable
products and services. With greater demand for homes that offer
reduced environmental impact, lower running costs and features that
enhance health and well-being, there is an increased need for home
builders to demonstrate their capacity in sustainable home
building, and to market the sustainability of their homes to
homebuyers.”
From the
Code for Sustainable Homes,
Department for Communities and Local Government
As a supplier, we have been working for more
than ten years to create more sustainable solutions not only for
the house building market but for all our core markets. Concern has
been growing about responsible sourcing, the carbon footprint of
our products, and ethical trading.
Not only has the sector created initiatives to
minimise the environmental impact of the construction industry, we
have set about showing the market what can be achieved.
All of our markets have developed their own
approach to sustainability, each taking key criteria which are then
used within their supply chains to improve the overall performance,
especially in London. This has created a significant challenge for
us, as some of our products are used in more than one market.
Often sustainability criteria can be in
conflict with each other. For example, increasing the use of
recycled aggregates in concrete requires more cement therefore
increasing the carbon footprint. Cement is needed to make the
product last longer and so a larger carbon footprint can be
stretched over the concrete’s lifetime. So in fact, using more
cement in a durable product can be environmentally preferable.
In the past ten years, we have expanded the
portfolio of Aggregate Industries companies to address these new
demands. We have acquired businesses producing new raw materials
which can reduce the carbon footprint of our concrete products and
have secured bulk freight transport facilities by rail and water to
reduce the impact of moving materials to market.
Key Achievements
Charcon receives the 2007 Ringway
Sustainability Award for its Supply Chain Performance