Building Progress for a Sustainable Future
Aggregate Industries launch ambitious 2030 sustainability strategy with targets to be reviewed annually
AGGREGATE Industries have today launched their sustainability strategy – ‘Building Progress for a Sustainable Future’. The new strategy sets out the business’ vision to become the UK leader of innovative and sustainable building solutions and its ambition to embed sustainability in the future of construction.
Building on significant progress made by the company to date, 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 to 2030.
Central to Aggregate Industries’ business strategy and corporate vision, the blueprint focuses on five key pillars that are aligned to the company’s business operations: climate, people and communities, nature and environment, circular economy, and sustainable solutions.
Against each pillar, Aggregate Industries have identified key areas of focus, alongside specific performance targets to be achieved by 2025, which the business has committed to reviewing annually. These include:
Climate
- Net CO2 emissions: down to 500kg CO2 net/tonne cementitious
- Downstream transport CO2 reduced by 5%
- 100% zero-carbon electricity
- Climate resilience risk assessments at 100%
People and communities
- Health and safety culture maturity to be ‘proactive’ or ‘generative’
- Improve Lost-Time Injury Frequency Rate by 25%
- 200 new opportunities for apprenticeships
- 33% female leaders, and 30% overall female representation in the business
- All high-risk suppliers assessed via code of conduct
- Positively impact 50,000 people in local communities
- Culture of community service and 3,000 volunteer hours per annum
- £50,000 per annum fundraising target
- All major sites to have a community engagement plan
Nature and environment
- Reduce freshwater withdrawal intensity by 30% for cement and 12.5% for aggregates
- 100% of water discharged to meet environmental quality standards
- 100% of quarries to have biodiversity plans
- 200 sites to have a ‘place for nature’
- 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 use of recycled materials from 1.5 million to 3 million tonnes
- Reduce waste to landfill to zero
- Embed a circularity collaboration action network
Sustainable solutions
- Deliver reporting tool to provide accurate carbon information
- 25% of revenue from green products and solutions
- Expand portfolio of sustainable products and solutions.
Kirstin McCarthy, sustainability director at Aggregate Industries, who led the business’ sustainability review, explained: ‘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 £13 million in an alternative fuels recycling plant to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 30,000 tonnes, recycled close to 1 million tonnes of asphalt planings, and sold enough ECOPact low-carbon concrete to save over 142,000 tonnes of CO2.
‘However, it’s important to recognize 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 (SDGs) 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 recognize that this strategy will evolve, which is why we’re committing to reviewing and reporting on our progress annually.’
Dragan Maksimovic, chief executive officer of Aggregate Industries, commented: ‘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 recognize 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 what we do today that builds a sustainable future for our communities, industry, and world. It is my personal commitment to drive this forward through everything we do and how we do it.’
