491
operational facilities in the UK and Middle East
6,204
employees in the UK and Middle East
SUSTAINABILITY AT TARMAC
Sustainability is embedded in our business strategy and is fundamental to the way we do business. We have quarried minerals and manufactured construction materials for more than 110 years, and firmly believe that our longevity and success is linked to managing our business in a sustainable way. This means operating in a socially and economically responsible manner with the utmost consideration for the environment and communities, while focusing on the whole-life sustainability benefits and impacts of our products. We believe that our approach ensures that Tarmac remains a successful business.
Read a comment from Tarmac’s Director of Sustainability
Why does it matter?
Adopting sustainable business practices is not only the right thing to do; it makes good business sense and ensures our long-term commercial success. Tarmac’s materials are used to create the built environment we live in and the infrastructure we rely on. They are also essential to a number of important manufacturing and environmental processes such as producing clean drinking water and food manufacturing. As our materials are so widely used, they play a critical part in delivering sustainable construction and helping the UK achieve its environmental and carbon reduction targets. Additional pressures such as population growth, climate change and pressure on finite natural resources make it vital to continuously adapt our products to meet today’s needs, while protecting the interests of future generations.
What is Tarmac doing?
Our well-established Sustainability Framework embeds sustainability within our business, while identifying our priorities and guiding our actions across four areas that are key to our business, our customers and our stakeholders. These are: Sustainable Products; Climate Change; Natural Resources & The Environment; and People & Communities. The Framework also informs the structure of this report, describing our comprehensive approach to sustainability and incorporating our actions and performance.
Statement from Tarmac's Director of Sustainability
2011 was a successful year for Tarmac and we made good progress against our sustainability targets. Despite ongoing external challenges, we have maintained our focus and continued to deliver cuts in carbon emissions, energy use and waste.
We’ve also continued our commitment to helping customers make more informed decisions by launching the industry’s first, comprehensive carbon footprint calculator, which determines a footprint for any of our products. Responsible sourcing and supply chain management still feature high in our priorities, and in 2011 we used the insights gained from our position on the Achilles BuildingConfidence steering council to begin the roll-out of this certification across our own supplier base.
I’m also very encouraged to note that, despite difficult conditions, sustainability remains absolutely at the core of our business strategy and culture, and also highly relevant to our key customers and stakeholders. There’s a wider recognition that, when delivered in a meaningful and transparent way, sustainability makes good business sense, bringing clear financial, brand and commercial benefits. There is still some progress to be made before our approach to sustainability becomes more mainstream across the construction sector, but I am committed to helping our customers and wider industry in making this a reality.
Dr Martyn Kenny, Director of Sustainability at Tarmac
