Sustainable Development Performance

Soils and Stone is committed to protecting the environment and to using sustainable methods of work, so it was good to read the latest report from the UK Mineral Products Association.

The recycled and secondary aggregates share of the GB market remained high. It represents an estimated 28% of the market, nearly three times higher than the average market share in Europe.

The 2016 Sustainable Development Performance Summary shows the industry has a particularly good record on recycling, emissions, logistics, quarry restoration and biodiversity, said Nigel Jackson, chief executive, Mineral Products Association. In addition, the industry is making significant strides in reducing its impact of the environment.

• Airborne emissions – there has been a sustained and significant reduction in airborne emissions from cement plants since 1998. This trend continued throughout 2015.
• Operational carbon dioxide emissions – operational carbon dioxide emissions are gradually declining from the majority of products, except cement.
• Local supply chains – the average road delivery distance for aggregates was 35 miles/52 kilometres; for asphalt  27 miles/56 kilometres; and for ready-mixed concrete,  7 miles/12 kilometres.
• Quarry restoration and biodiversity – there was further progress on quarry restoration and biodiversity. An additional 469ha of land were restored to priority habitat and a further 2748ha are planned for future priority habitat creation.
• Certified environmental management systems – 100% of cement sites and 92% of aggregates quarries surveyed reported that they operated with certified environmental management systems.

Posted on: 8 June 2017