Lincolnshire quarry operators Goldholme are one of the few British stone companies who have actually tried to put some figures on just how green their stone is.
They commissioned Lincoln consultants Halletec Associates to carry out a study (the results of which you can find on Goldholme’s website) of the environmental impacts of various other building materials compared with Goldholme’s natural limestone. The other products were clay brick, reconstituted stone, timber cladding, glass/steel and plastic cladding. They were compared on the basis of energy in manufacture, pollutants emitted, waste in production, impact of processing plant, life of product, maintenance requirements in service, carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint and recycling potential.
Goldholme Stone’s natural stone is ranked in first place for six of the eight environmental impacts listed above and in second place for the remaining two. Overall, Goldholme’s natural stone has the lowest environmental impact score. With a score of 42 (the lower the number the lower the environmental impact) Goldholme’s stone is the environmental winner by a huge margin – the next best material, clay brick, scores 91. The third ranked material is reconstituted stone with a score of 141.
Goldholme say the study gives piece of mind to the growing number of environmentally conscious specifiers and clients that previously had no data to support their decision to use natural stone.
And what makes this study especially useful to those who want to specify Goldholme’s limestones is its specific focus on one particular type of stone. It is notoriously difficult to generalise about stone because it varies so much from quarry to quarry. Of course, the other side of the coin is that the results are only applicable to Goldholme Stone’s range of limestones.
Phil Kerry, Managing Director of Goldholme Stone, told NSS: “The environmental impact of buildings has become an important issue for the whole construction industry – and rightly so. It’s something we’ve been serious about for a long time. We’re so committed to helping safeguard our planet’s future that we promise our customers that 10 new trees will have been planted by one of our sister companies for every lorry load of stone we deliver.”
It’s a promise they’ve been keeping since 2005, with thousands of trees, shrubs and hedges planted around the country from Leicestershire to Cornwall. It will reassure many specifiers and clients that in choosing some of England’s finest limestones they have made an environmentally friendly choice.