Each active quarry to designate 15% space for nature by 2030
Of our 45 active aggregate quarries 31% have 15% designated space for nature.
Each active quarry to have a biodiversity management plan (BMP) by 2025
Of our 48 active quarries (aggregate and cement) 98% have a BMP.
Our supporting biodiversity commitments
Our progress
Reclamation plans in all quarries that comply with Heidelberg Materials guidelines
Of our 48 active quarries (aggregate and cement) 100% have a reclamation plan. The 3 cement quarries have a plan in line with Heidelberg Materials ’guidelines while the aggregate sites are under review to ensure compliance.
Net impact assessment for all active quarries by 2025
During 2022 and 2023 34 net impact assessments have been completed at our quarries resulting in an average biodiversity net gain of 23.8%
All operational sites within 1 km of a protected area to implement a BMP
All 48 of our active quarries have a BMP while the rest of our operational non-quarry sites are under review to develop an implementation plan in line with Heidelberg Materials' guidance for smaller operations.
Further biodiversity measures
Our progress
Proximity study undertaken by Heidelberg Materials Group every 3 years
The latest proximity study was carried out in 2021 by Heidelberg Materials Group. The next update is due in 2024
Water
Our headline water commitments
Our progress
100% of sites in water-risk areas implement water management plans and water recycling systems
At the end of 2023, 42 of our sites have formal water management and water recycling systems
Our supporting water commitments
Our progress
10% reduction in freshwater consumption from a 2020 baseline
Total freshwater (abstracted and mains) consumption (litres/tonne) was down 11.8% against the 2020 baseline.
Mains water consumption was 20.5 litres/tonne.
Freshwater (abstracted and mains) water was 112.6 litres/tonne.
We held another in our series of Let’s Talk Sustainability webinars, this time about the importance of considering biodiversity in construction projects.
It was aimed at everyone in the construction sector with an interest in the topic including local authorities, highways professionals, architects, and housebuilders.
The event included a discussion about what biodiversity is, why it’s important and what the government’s plan for new housing, commercial and infrastructure developments to be ‘nature positive’ looks like.
It also covered the importance of biodiversity to the construction sector as well as a panel discussion to delve deeper into biodiversity net gain.
Our Ketton cement works in Rutland is now home to 30,000 bees following the donation of three hives from one of our employees to support the biodiversity of the site. Access to the new hives was created during a volunteering day for members of the cement and packed products team, who cut back branches and overgrown bushes and laid five tonnes of recycled aggregate. Read more
Work to restore rivers and floodplains in the Trent Valley in Staffordshire won the 2023 UK River Prize catchment-scale award. Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency have been working with many project partners, including Heidelberg Materials, to carry out more than 100 river and floodplain projects through the Trent river system over the past 25 years. Read more
We continue to create water management plans for every production site in the UK and now have 42 in place across England and Wales. These plans identify improvements for monitoring, recording and efficient use of water on our sites.
One of our goals is to automate our meter readings and produce accurate, high-resolution data. This will reduce the time taken to identify leaks and areas of excessive water consumption. Chipping Sodbury has recently become one of our first sites to implement automated meter reading on its discharge points, improving the health of the nearby watercourse.
We have continued to work closely with Waterscan to identify and repair water leaks on our mains water network. During 2023, eight significant supply pipe leaks were repaired across seven of our sites. The repairs have saved us a total of 103,000m3 of water.
Category
litres/ tonne
megalitres
2018
188.04
7,784
2019
208.17
8,456
2020
163.08
5,894
2021
125.31
5328
2022
125.7
5525
2023
133.15
5175
Target
Reduce total water consumption per tonne - no set value
