Carbon trust standard success for Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK

BUILDING materials giant, Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK, has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard after taking action on climate change by measuring and reducing its carbon emissions by over 24%.

The company achieved the Carbon Trust Standard, the world's first carbon award that requires an organisation to measure, manage and reduce its carbon emissions and actually make real reductions year-on-year, following three years of carbon management initiatives and independent verification.

The Standard certification was awarded to all of the company's UK operations and subsidiaries, including 35 quarries, 98 readymix plants, 17 asphalt plants, nine depots and head office at Granite House, Syston.

Carbon reduction initiatives ranged from simply encouraging people to turn off lights and equipment to installing electricity metres with half hourly monitoring so usage could be tracked and controlled.

Helen Atkins, CRC and Energy Performance Adviser for Lafarge A&C UK said:

"It has been a mammoth undertaking and involved a lot of hard work and effort, especially from the guys on the ground. I am really proud of all the team and of the way people have got on board. Raising awareness and encouraging different behaviours have been key to this success."

Miles Dobson, Head of Manufacturing for Lafarge A&C UK added:

"Lafarge is very proud to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard certificate. It demonstrates the hard work and efforts of all employees in managing and reducing our energy consumption and supports Lafarge's commitment to its sustainability ambitions".

Harry Morrison, General Manager for the Carbon Trust Standard Company said:

"We congratulate Lafarge Aggregates on their certification. Carbon is a complex issue so most people need shorthand to indicate whether a company is doing the right thing. Achieving the Carbon Trust Standard allows Lafarge Aggregates to talk with integrity about the serious and credible steps the company has taken to reduce its carbon emissions."

The Carbon Trust Standard is an important part of Lafarge's pledge to operate in the most environmentally sustainable way possible and continually seek to reduce its energy consumption. Lafarge's application and success in achieving certification is one aspect of its approach to sustainability.

As part of the wider sustainability efforts of the company all sites were visited and given an energy rating certificate, similar to the ones used for white goods in the home. This showed how each site was performing in a clear and easy to understand way and highlighted areas for improvement.

Staff attended workshops and came up with their own ideas on how effective changes could be made and these were shared on a company database.

Effective ideas included:

• Shortening a haulage route from the quarry face to the plant at the Whitwell quarry in Derbyshire, resulting in fewer dump truck trips. This decreased haulage to the equivalent of one 60 tonne dump truck with a cost saving value of £460,000.
• Installing a time and float switch on water pumps so the pump doesn't run unnecessarily and only kicks in when the water level rises.
• Adopting an energy usage reading at 4pm every Sunday when equipment and machinery should be switched off to track unexpected usage.
• Installing sensors on conveyors to prevent empty running and blockages.
• Investment and research in energy efficient equipment/plant.

Implementing the initiatives has already cut the company's energy bill by £250,000 and the aim is to continue to reduce energy consumption by 10 to 15per cent by 2012.

www.lafarge.co.uk