2023 has been a pivotal one for the business as we rebranded from Hanson UK to Heidelberg Materials.
Being part of a strong, unified Group makes it easier for us to work together to drive down carbon emissions, promote the circular economy and develop sustainable and innovative building materials to help our customers meet their decarbonisation ambitions.
These aims are reflected in our revised 2030 sustainability commitments. They are centred on Heidelberg Materials Group’s sustainability strategy but take key drivers within the UK construction industry into account.
They cover topics under four headings – net zero, circular and resilient, safe and inclusive, and nature positive – and form the basis of all our sustainability activities, giving us clear and measurable goals to build a more sustainable future.
During the year we created a new recycling business line that will help us deliver on these commitments. It recovers construction and demolition waste, processing and reusing it for use in our sustainable building materials, allowing our customers to build more with less. This helps us reduce the use of primary raw materials, which is crucial to reaching net zero.
We also continue to make progress with our plans to remove production emissions across the business. We have taken further steps towards building a carbon capture facility at our Padeswood cement works in north Wales, which will use proven amine-based technology to remove up to 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. In addition, we are also involved in other industry-leading decarbonisation trials using innovative technologies that could prove instrumental in decarbonising our industry in the future.
We recognise that we can’t reach our net zero ambitions alone and collaboration with our customers and supply chain remains key. One of the ways we have continued to do this is through our Let’s Talk Sustainability webinars, which provide a fantastic platform for those across the sector to share progress and successes in different areas which will all play a part in meeting net zero goals.
Our employees are our biggest asset and play a vital role in the success of our business. We are proud to be recognised by The 5% Club for our commitment to work-based learning and are committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of all of our employees. We also strive to be a responsible operator and manage our activities to maximise the social value we are creating.