Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85652
Sustainability Picks Up Although many initiatives began in Europe, North American operators are beginning to appreciate the benefits of green business practices. by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief ustainable operating practices — which have roots in the business strategies of many European construction materials companies — are making their way into the ideology and operations of their North American counterparts. For example, Lafarge North America Inc.'s vari- ous business units have taken a cue from their global parent company, with each business unit forming a sustainable construction committee. Each commit- tee represents all its product lines, including aggre- gates, ready-mix, asphalt, cement, pre-cast concrete, and gypsum within that business unit, says Ted Matson, Lafarge North America Inc.'s director of marketing for aggregates in western Canada. "During the last two years, we came up with a S STEAM marketing plan that primarily identifies risks and opportunities that are related to sustainability," he explains. "Here in western Canada, almost all of the newly designed buildings have some sustain- able construction dimension to them. There's an increased awareness of it internally within our own organization and, at the same time, externally within the construction industry." One of the risks includes a negative perception related to the risk of embodied energy (from CO2 ) in the materials. At the same time, product lifespan and durability offer opportunities, particularly as they relate to a building industry that is increasingly seek- ing green construction materials. "The big issue is life-cycle cost, so, as a building material, the life-cycle STRATEGIES12 SOLAR12