Concrete Sustainability Performance Report published
THE concrete industry is making significant progress towards its vision of being recognized, by 2012, as the leader in sustainable construction, according to its latest annual Concrete Sustainability Performance Report.
The report, which highlights the pan-industry commitment to achieve a wide range of sustainability performance targets, shows that the industry is not just achieving these targets, but in many cases exceeding them.
This is the third report following the 2008 agreement between the nine sectors within the concrete industry to a pan-industry sustainability strategy. The agreement covers 74% of UK concrete production and commits the industry to the transparent reporting of the industry’s sustainability performance.
The latest report is based upon 2009 production data and reports on 16 performance indicators and 13 targets.
The concrete industry is the first sector to link its sustainable construction materials strategy to the responsible sourcing standard BES 6001: ‘Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Materials’. To date, 81% of concrete production is now responsibly sourced to the standard – a major achievement considering BES 6001 was only published in October 2009.
In addition, there has been an almost 18% reduction in CO2 emissions for concrete production since 1990. This exceeds the 2012 target and has been achieved by the substitution of fossil fuels with waste-derived fuels in cement manufacturing and by the use of recycled and low-carbon constituent materials.
The concrete industry also continues its impressive performance in waste minimization. It is a net user of waste, utilizing over 4 million tonnes that would otherwise be destined for landfill while generating just under 0.2 million tonnes of waste.
Welcoming the progress being made, Andrew Minson, executive director of The Concrete Centre, said: ‘The concrete industry is working together to ensure that it is not just in the forefront, but is the leader in sustainable construction.
‘All nine sectors of the industry are committed to continual improvement over and above legislative requirements, and to the provision of transparent data that enables the delivery of a truly sustainable built environment.’
The report, which highlights the pan-industry commitment to achieve a wide range of sustainability performance targets, shows that the industry is not just achieving these targets, but in many cases exceeding them.
This is the third report following the 2008 agreement between the nine sectors within the concrete industry to a pan-industry sustainability strategy. The agreement covers 74% of UK concrete production and commits the industry to the transparent reporting of the industry’s sustainability performance.
The latest report is based upon 2009 production data and reports on 16 performance indicators and 13 targets.
The concrete industry is the first sector to link its sustainable construction materials strategy to the responsible sourcing standard BES 6001: ‘Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Materials’. To date, 81% of concrete production is now responsibly sourced to the standard – a major achievement considering BES 6001 was only published in October 2009.
In addition, there has been an almost 18% reduction in CO2 emissions for concrete production since 1990. This exceeds the 2012 target and has been achieved by the substitution of fossil fuels with waste-derived fuels in cement manufacturing and by the use of recycled and low-carbon constituent materials.
The concrete industry also continues its impressive performance in waste minimization. It is a net user of waste, utilizing over 4 million tonnes that would otherwise be destined for landfill while generating just under 0.2 million tonnes of waste.
Welcoming the progress being made, Andrew Minson, executive director of The Concrete Centre, said: ‘The concrete industry is working together to ensure that it is not just in the forefront, but is the leader in sustainable construction.
‘All nine sectors of the industry are committed to continual improvement over and above legislative requirements, and to the provision of transparent data that enables the delivery of a truly sustainable built environment.’
