www.highwaysmagazine.co.uk Surface matters
Continuing our series of quarterly columns from the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), chairman Alan Mackenzie gives his opinion about some of the areas where the asphalt industry is progressing its sustainable development credentials
First and foremost, sustainability is about business survival, the economic pillar. An organisation has to be sustainable fi nancially, with a positive balance sheet and a healthy order book, in order to survive and have a bright future.
Beyond that, sustainability is about being innovative and responsible in terms of how you manage materials, plant, energy and human resources. This is the environmental pillar and is often wrongly considered in isolation as “sustainability”.
Sustainability is also about safeguarding the health and safety of your employees, and carefully, sensitively, managing the impact your organisation’s operations have upon the local community and environment. This is the social pillar, but with obvious environmental overlaps.
Conserving natural
resources The asphalt industry is reliant upon fi nite supplies of resources, so how these are managed and conserved is crucial to its long-term viability.
Maximising the proportion of reclaimed asphalt planings (RAP) within asphalt mixes – typically up to 35 per cent can be added to the base and binder layers and approximately 10 per cent in the top, surface course – reduces the amount of virgin materials that need to be extracted. Historically, these planings only had non-highway uses such as tracks or pathways in farmyards and golf courses. However, by increasing the proportion of RAP used in mixes, the amount of virgin material that needs to be excavated is reduced and so too are the CO2
emissions associated with the
transportation, production and handing of virgin materials.
Sustainability credentials
Being able to demonstrate strong environmental credentials is well-received by customers. The environmental performance of potential suppliers is likely to be an increasingly important consideration within their purchasing decision-making processes, alongside other commercial and quality-based assessments.
The quality of natural material sources varies and here, too, signifi cant steps
can be taken to increase the proportion of marginal products which are used commercially. A good example is how some “low-grade” or secondary, aggregate products, which previously would have been put back into a quarry or to landfi ll as unusable, are now being incorporated by using specialised processes and equipment.
Energy consumption and
carbon footprints Once again, investment has a major role to play here, as actively managing energy consumption and emissions can only take you so far. The best- performing organisations, in terms of minimising energy consumption and product carbon footprint, are those which additionally invest in new, more energy-effi cient equipment alongside their energy management programmes. Consistent, year-on-year reductions of more than four per cent in energy usage per tonne of material produced can be achieved when active energy management measures – such as intelligent temperature, lighting and energy controls – are combined with ongoing investment in more effi cient plant.
Sustainability and human
resources Across the industry there is a cautious sense of optimism spreading that the market for asphalt is about to grow, after what have been extremely challenging times.
In the past few years there has been very little money available to invest in people. Unsurprisingly, the asphalt industry now has a rising age demographic and what in the future, if not already, could be regarded as a skills shortage. This is also true in the client and specifi er sector for those tasked with making the necessary informed specifi cation and procurement decisions.
Many apprentice schemes closed during the recession. However, a number of organisations are now reintroducing these as they once again invest in growing their young talent.
Skills training is also increasing within the asphalt industry, as businesses seek to further develop the talent of their own people to fi ll gaps created by cuts necessitated by the downturn.
DECEMBER 2013
SURFACE MAINTENANCE 29
Alan Mackenzie, Asphalt Industry Alliance chairman
Haulage and sustainability
Haulage is a crucial sustainability issue and signifi cant effi ciency and environmental impact reductions have been made through driver training and logistics improvements.
However, the simple truth is that the number of drivers and vehicles currently in service transporting asphalt will be insuffi cient if there is a signifi cant increase in product volumes. There needs to be enhanced communication and joined up thinking and action across the industry, including clients, to provide confi dence that additional volumes of asphalt will be required for a sustained period. Only then can positive investment decisions be taken regarding additional vehicles and drivers, which will put the industry in a position to meet customers’ demands for larger volumes of material in the future.
There is no short cut to becoming a successful, sustainable business in the asphalt industry, but a long-term philosophy of continued, company- wide commitment and investment will benefi t customers, the environment and the organisation itself.
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