Focus on Paving
How the construction industry is being challenged more and more to minimise its impact on the environment
With the construction industry being challenged more and more to minimise its impact on the environment, Clinton Young, National Specification Manager at Charcon, part of the Aggregate Industries group, examines the ways in which the processes for extracting and importing natural stone can be made to be as ethically sound and sustainable as possible.
The demand for natural stone is increasing year on year, due largely to its aesthetic appeal, the ease in which it lends itself to bespoke products and its lifetime durability. The International Market of Stone Products generated a trade flow of 27.5 billion euros in 2015, an increase of 12.4% in 2014, but with demand expected to increase, the construction industry is faced with an ever increasing challenge to provide ethically sourced stone, whilst remaining competitively priced in a crowded market place.
THE CHALLENGES FACED
One of the most widely talked about concerns is the use of bonded labour within the Indian sandstone sector. The country employs millions of people, thousands of which are child workers under the age of five. A recent report by UNICEF uncovered that 38% of children surveyed in Rajasthan’s Kota and Bundi districts work in sandstone quarries for as little as £1 per day.
To help tackle the issue, the Modern Slavery Act was introduced in April 2016, which requires companies to report on what they are doing to identify and eradicate slavery from their supply chains. However, the flaw to the Act is that it only applies to companies with an annual turnover threshold of £36million, meaning lots of small companies who sell cheap stock in bulk, can turn a blind eye to how its products are sourced and can therefore pass on a cheaper product to the purchaser, who is potentially unaware of the stone’s supply chain.
Across the border to China, which is responsible for 42% of the market share in global natural stone exports, the government has taken matters into its own hands to tackle the dangerous levels of pollution in the north
20
As a leading supplier of ethically sourced natural stone landscaping products, Aggregate Industries is spearheading efforts to improve the working conditions of stone workers, particularly in India. As a company, we are active members of The Forest Trust’s Responsible Stone Programme, whose mission is to diminish the negative impact of natural stone mining and processing by sourcing responsibly quarried stone that respects the environment and improves people’s lives at both the extraction and supply chain.
Within our supply chain, we have identified potential risks from existing and potential suppliers and since 2012, imports from these countries accounted for less than one percent of our total products sold. To assess the risk, we have a policy which contains standards restricting trade if child or forced labour is found, worker health, safety and welfare is ignored or pay is below the local legal limits. The policy is supported by a comprehensive code of practice to ensure there is complete transparency with all our natural stone suppliers and deliberate and persistent failure to comply with our policy and the code of practice could result in a breach of contract and in the cessation of trading.
of the country due to the high density of factories. Beijing announced that 500 higher-polluting factories would be closed, with 2,500 more to be upgraded to help reduce the country’s persistent problems with smog. The closures mean suppliers have to look elsewhere for their products in either different parts of China or Europe. Although Europe has more robust ethical and trading standards than China, this in return has put increasing pressure on some factories who may not be able to cope with the demand, and in-return, create supply chain issues which lead to product delays and increase cost to both the supplier and purchaser.
THE RESPONSIBLE SOURCE
Despite the on-going issues surrounding the process of extracting and importing natural stone, companies can put in a number of measures to ensure designers can specify natural stone without concern.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
