Setting out the business’s vision to become the UK leader of innovative and sustainable building solutions, and its ambition to embed sustainability in the future of construction, Aggregate Industries has launched its sustainability strategy, Building Progress for a Sustainable Future.
Following significant progress by the building materials supplier, Building Progress for a Sustainable Future brings together former management plans and policies into a more holistic and ambitious strategy, set to transform the business until 2030.
Central to its business strategy and corporate vision, the blueprint focuses on five key pillars that are aligned to its operations: climate; people and communities; nature and the environment; circular economy; and sustainable solutions.
Against each pillar, Aggregate Industries has identified key areas of focus, alongside specific performance targets to be achieved by 2025, and has committed to reviewing these targets annually. These include:
Climate
- Reduce net CO2 emissions to 500kg CO2 net/t cementitious;
- Reduce downstream transport CO2 by 5 per cent;
- 100 per cent zero-carbon electricity; and
- Climate resilience risk assessments at 100 per cent.
People
- Health and safety culture maturity to be proactive or generative;
- Improve the lost time injury frequency rate by 25 per cent;
- Create 200 new opportunities for apprenticeships;
- Achieve 33 per cent female leaders and 30 per cent female representation overall in the business; and
- All high-risk suppliers assessed via a code of conduct.
Communities
- Have a positive impact on 50,000 people in local communities;
- A culture of community service and 3,000 volunteer hours per annum;
- Fundraising target of £50,000 per annum; and
- All major sites to have a community engagement plan.
Nature and the environment
- Reduce freshwater withdrawal intensity by 30 per cent for cement and 12.5 per cent for aggregates;
- 100 per cent of water discharged will meet environmental quality standards;
- 100 per cent of quarries will have biodiversity plans;
- 200 sites will have a place for nature; and
- Establish a biodiversity baseline, following the Biodiversity Indicator Reporting System (BIRS), for all managed land for cement and aggregates sites by 2024.
Circular economy
- Increase the use of recycled materials from 1.5m to 3m tonnes;
- Reduce waste to landfill to zero; and
- Embed a circularity collaboration action network.
Sustainable solutions
- Deliver a reporting tool to provide accurate carbon information;
- 25 per cent of revenue will come from green products and solutions; and
- Expand the portfolio of sustainable products and solutions.
Aggregate Industries sustainability director Kirstin McCarthy, who led the business’s sustainability review, says: “We need to transform our business and we have already made progress. Over the last 12 months we have delivered the UK’s first carbon-neutral road scheme, invested over £13m in an alternative-fuel recycling plant to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 30,000 tonnes, recycled close to 1m tonnes of asphalt planings, and sold enough ECOPact low-carbon concrete to save CO2 over 142,000 tonnes.
“We are putting our effort into the areas where we can make a material difference for our people and the planet”
Kirstin McCarthy, Aggregate Industries
“However, it is important to recognise that while we have our own journey to go on, the issues facing our planet are truly global. That’s why we have structured our strategy around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as well as key UK policy and industry standards. We are putting our effort into the areas where we can make a material difference for our people and the planet.
“Our priorities are to reduce our impact on the climate, protect and enhance nature and the environment, drive the transition to a circular economy, and protect and support our people and communities. We have created robust goals and measurable key performance indicators for each one of these pillars. We also recognise that this strategy will evolve, which is why we’re committing to reviewing and reporting on our progress annually.”
Future-facing business
Aggregate Industries chief executive officer Dragan Maksimovic says: “Aggregate Industries is a progressive, future-facing business; a company that is intrinsically sustainable, trusted and respected by stakeholders and the communities in which we operate. Our newly developed sustainability strategy is central to transforming our business. It will accelerate our transition to net zero, providing clear milestones and measurable results along the way.
“Society’s development is dependent on the building sector. As a proud member of Holcim Group, the global leader in innovative and sustainable construction solutions, we recognise our responsibility to play a central role in the transition towards net zero, while building progress through sustainable products and services. We understand that it is in what we do today that builds a sustainable future for our communities, industry and the world. It is my personal commitment to drive this forward through everything we do and how we do it.”
Aggregate Industries’ sustainability director, Kirstin McCarthy, will be speaking at this year’s Construction News Decarbonising Construction conference on 14-15 June.
For further information, visit www.aggregate.com.
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