Source: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.
This week, NRMCA has certified the first four concrete plants in its new Sustainable Concrete Plant Certification Program, with member company Titan America having three Virginia operations certified: Clear Brook Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Clear Brook, at the Silver level; Suffolk Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Suffolk, at the Bronze level; and, Bryan Park Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Richmond, at the Bronze level. The fourth plant is Unibeton’s Mussafah Ready Mixed Concrete Plant, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, at the Silver level.
“Titan America and Unibeton should be very proud for being the first plants in the world to certify their plants in the program,” said Lionel Lemay, the association’s senior vice president of sustainability. “These two companies have clearly demonstrated their commitment to continuous environmental improvement.”
In addition, Lemay indicated that certifying at the Bronze and Silver level this early in the program is a remarkable achievement since criteria is extremely rigorous. Lemay doesn’t expect Gold and Platinum level plants for several years, since it will take time and investment for operators to implement the strategies to achieve these higher levels of certification.
Launched earlier this year, the NRMCA Sustainable Concrete Plant Certification program is designed to help concrete producers demonstrate excellence in sustainable manufacturing. The program includes quantitative, performance-based metrics to provide ready mixed concrete producers with specific guidance to assess their production practices and implement sustainability strategies that will ultimately lower their overall footprint.
To certify, plant personnel use a document titled Sustainable Concrete Plant Guidelines that rates a plant’s level of sustainability within different credit categories, with the objective of reducing carbon footprint, energy consumption, water use and waste; increasing recycled content; and improving human health and social conditions. Plants can achieve between 0 and 100 points depending on how many sustainability credits are achieved and their level of performance within each credit.
A third-party auditor reviews the applications and documentation to determine if a plant meets the criteria described in the Guidelines for all the points being claimed by the plant. If the plant meets the certification criteria, NRMCA awards the plant with the appropriate Certification level: Bronze (30-49 points); Silver (50-69); Gold (70-89); Platinum (90-100). The Certification is valid for two years, after which a plant must re-certify. More details on the NRMCA Sustainable Concrete Plant Certification program can be found at: www.nrmca.org/sustainability/certification.