Concrete industry on track to meet 2012 sustainability performance targets, says MPA The Concrete Centre
ACCORDING to the latest Concrete Industry Sustainability Performance Report (published by MPA The Concrete Centre), the concrete industry is continuing to improve its performance and exceed its targets ahead of schedule.
In 2008, the UK concrete sector signed up to the Concrete Industry Sustainable Construction Strategy. This landmark pan-industry agreement had as its central premise a common vision that ‘by 2012, the UK concrete industry will be recognized as the leader in sustainable construction, by taking a dynamic role in delivering a sustainable built environment in a manner that is profitable, socially responsible and functions within environmental limits.’
The forthcoming publication of the fifth Concrete Industry Sustainability Performance Report, based on 2011 production data, demonstrates how far the industry has come in realizing its vision. Many of the 2012 targets have been achieved already and in many cases exceeded.
Not resting on its laurels, the industry has this year committed to further sustainability improvements by 2020 and beyond. The Performance Report states that 92% of concrete production is responsibly sourced to the BRE standard BES 6001 – Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products.
In addition to BES 6001, 85.6% of concrete production sites are covered by UKAS-certified Environmental Management Systems (EMS); these provide the framework for a comprehensive sustainability strategy. The target for 2020 is that 95% of production sites will have an EMS.
Other achievements highlighted by the report include a significant 19% reduction in carbon emissions since 1990; this is an equivalent reduction of 47kg per cubic metre. In 2011, the production of a standardized tonne of concrete produced 83.4kg of CO2.
An indicator that has not just been exceeded but has surpassed all targets is the waste efficiency of the industry. Since 2008 the concrete sector has reduced the amount of waste it sends to landfill by 76%.
