Aggregate Industries supports green infrastructure

The UK’s Aggregate Industries, part of the Holcim Group, has shown its commitment to greener developments through its sponsorship and contribution to the UK Green Building Council’s (UK-GBC) report on green infrastructure.

Intended for clients and developers, the report seeks to consolidate existing information on green infrastructure for those working in the built environment and provides an accessible guide for businesses to create and maintain green infrastructure. The report highlights the leading role that the construction industry can take in promoting green infrastructure and biodiversity in developments.

Aggregate Industries is Gold Leaf Founding Member of the UK-GBC, and the first company to be certified to BRE BES 6001; the Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products, for all products. It provided its expertise to the report, including the benefits of promoting the use of more sustainable construction methods.

Green infrastructure describes the network of natural and semi-natural features within and between villages, towns and cities. One of Aggregate Industries’ commitments towards sustainability includes listening and responding to local communities and other key stakeholders. The report from the UK-GBC explains how adopting a green approach helps prepare businesses for climate change adaptation, as well as promoting biodiversity, human health and wellbeing.

The recently published report outlines the benefits of incorporating green infrastructure into the initial design stages of construction, which include cost and time savings, as well as creating market advantage for clients and developers by creating more attractive and marketable places and properties. Business risks from not implementing green infrastructure are also highlighted, including the risk of delays when applying for planning permissions and issues with water quality.

Aggregate Industries is currently working with the Wildlife Trust in London to create a tool to calculate the value of green space. Oliver Jones, Head of Communications & Sustainability, Aggregate Industries, said: “Involvement in the report from the UK-GBC was very important for our business as we continue to search for ways to promote the importance of green credentials across the construction industry.

“Aggregate Industries plays an important role in construction, supplying a large number of building materials, and we are passionate about ensuring the industry leads the way in changing the process of future developments to include green infrastructure. The report is an important step in making clients and developers think about changing the process of planning and building new developments and we look forward to our continued involvement in the future.”

Adapted from press release by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/26032015/aggregate-industries-supports-green-infrastructure-580/