Pit & Quarry, August 2012

SUSTAINABILITY is an industry government partnership that works to develop long term comprehensive corporate climate change strategies Through the program Aggregate Industries is pursuing energy efficiency green power and technological innovation We work with an independent third party each year to complete an audit at all of our sites to verify the C3 offsets and compliance with the EPA program Nickel says We provide a breakdown of our energy consumption to the EPA each year They review our information and respond with feedback regarding our energy They also provide suggestions to improve our operations based on energy management practices theyve seen in other industries As part of its comprehensive environmental management system Aggregate Industries also completed the International Organization for Standardizations ISO 14001 certification According to Aggregate Industries it is the only construction materials company to have all of its facilities ISO 14001 certified with the exception of recent acquisitions ISO 14001 verifies that an organization or business has dedicated its management system to environmental awareness The ISO organization develops and publishes international standards Its network includes 164 countries one member per country with a Central Secretariat in Switzerland The organization enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society ISO provides standards guidelines and policies governing correct environmental management by certified organizations ISO 14001 is at this time the most recognized of the ISO 14000 series certifications as well as the sole ISO standard that can be certified The ISO 14001 process involves onsite four day training that is undertaken If a truck is not loaded with product and sits idle for a certain amount of time we ask drivers to turn off the engine From that one small change weve seen a savings in fuel consumption Joel Nickel Aggregate Industries by a third party that is uninvolved in any way with the organization seeking certification A sizable number of certification organizations known as auditors provide materials mentoring and monitoring to ensure organizations recognize and comply with the various management guidelines Once standards have been met the auditing organization certifies the applicant as ISO 14001 compliant Our management system structure includes an environmental team in each of our regions Nickel says Each year those team members are required to complete an environmental audit of all facilities and measure the data supplied by plant managers to verify compliance and ensure that all records are up to date Our process also includes an annual review of our compliance targets which are set and evaluated each year by the business Compliance target updates and reports are made available to site managers through an online bulletin they can access Those managers then communicate target information and changes to employees Site managers also provide any necessary training and education to assist employees in reaching target goals Its difficult for employees to do the right thing if they dont have the information they need Nickel says Weve found that our comprehensive environmental management structure makes our environmental management efforts more efficient Its also easier to communicate with and train employees on a company wide basis Employees have regular opportunities to provide feedback and suggestions to site managers Weve found that our management process encourages employees to take ownership in reaching management goals at their site Achieving unlikely savings Every aspect of production is evaluated through Aggregate Industries management program Their efforts have led to an increased percentage of steel recycling and revision of the water recycling practices in each region On average people may not see water as an important commodity Nickel says Our review process has led us to consider that water could become an expensive commodity in the near future Were hoping to get ahead of the curve and get a clear picture of how much water we use and how much were actually recycling Some larger companies in our industry may be taking a closer look at water usage We believe it would be beneficial to small construction material businesses to evaluate their water recycling practices too With advances in electric usage technology Aggregate Industries is also investigating the value of detailed electric The ISO 14001 process involves on site four day training that is undertaken by a third party that is uninvolved in any way with the organization seeking certification A sizable number of certification organizations provide materials mentoring and monitoring to ensure organizations recognize and comply with the various management guidelines 38 PIT QUARRY August 2012 www pitandquarry com