Our Commitments

We present our commitments and detailed success factors based on the 2012 update of the Concrete Industry Sustainable Construction Strategy.

Contribute to the delivery of a low carbon built environment

  • We will continue to develop and publish best practice case studies and guidance on achieving low carbon buildings using concrete and masonry.
  • We will provide information to support the use of BIM tools. 
  • We will monitor the development of sustainability metrics and data requirements to enable the assessment of low carbon buildings in concrete and masonry.

Provide Life Cycle Assessment data compliant with codes and standards

  • We will ensure that industry boundaries, data sources and collection methodologies are transparent and support the production of credible generic EPDs.
  • We will provide embodied carbon values for product and building calculators.
  • We will engage with relevant institutions and associations to exchange information to support LCA data requirements.

Develop a Material and Resource Efficiency Programme to inform best practice across the life cycle of concrete in the built environment

  • We will continue to develop and publish best practice case studies and guidance on using recycled materials and recyclability of concrete. We will identify and promote best practice in designing for reuse. We will ensure that the industry’s production practices aligns with EU programmes for construction materials.

Develop a Low Carbon Freight Initiative to support improvement in transport performance through the concrete supply chain to construction sites

  • We will promote best practice low carbon freight initiatives and support innovation in the transport sector.
  • We will develop a measure, report and monitor performance of the industry’s transportation activities.
  • We will continue to refine data collection methods for measuring transport CO2 impacts.

Develop a Water Strategy to support the measurement and reporting of sustainability performance and target setting

  • We will develop a strategy for the resource efficient use of water within the concrete industry.
  • We will develop appropriate measurement methodologies consistent with the developing standards on product water foot-printing.
  • We will provide transparent and credible reporting and will set targets for performance improvement.

Target continuous improvement of sustainable production performance and report performance annually

  • We will continue to develop performance indicators to ensure the relevance of our reporting and framework for data collection.

We will set new targets for performance improvement including:

  • 90% reduction in waste to landfill by 2020 (from 2008 baseline)
  • 30% reduction in CO2 emissions from concrete production by 2020 (from 1990 baseline)
  • 95% of production certified to responsible sourcing standard BES 6001 by 2020
  • 100% of relevant production sites with action plans for site stewardship and biodiversity

We will continue to develop our annual reporting to reflect the needs of stakeholders.