Sustainability

Ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS) is one of the ‘greenest' of construction materials. Its only raw material is a specific slag that is a by-product from the blast-furnaces manufacturing iron. As well as the environmental benefit of utilising a by-product, GGBS replaces a material that is produced by a highly energy intensive process. Manufacture of Portland cement is a major contributor of greenhouse gases, responsible for about 5% of all global carbon dioxide emissions. In comparison, manufacture of GGBS requires less than one fifth of the energy and produces one fifteenth of the carbon dioxide emissions.

There are other green benefits: GGBS does not require the quarrying of virgin materials and the slag used in its production will not go to waste.

Currently, the UK uses 2 million tonnes per annum of GGBS as cement, which:

• reduces carbon dioxide emissions by about 2 million tonnes
• reduces primary energy use by 2,000 million kWh
• saves 3 million tonnes of quarrying
• saves a potential landfill of nearly 2 million tonnes.

Our CARBON CALCULATOR will demonstrate the environmental benefits of using GGBS in your concrete

Civil and Marine is proactive in its approach to environmental issues. All of our Works operate to BS EN ISO 14001, the internationally recognized standard for Environmental Management Systems and are independently audited and accredited by the British Standards Institution. The Company has a voluntary Climate Change Levy agreement with the Government, to achieve continuous improvement in energy-saving.