Quarry company Stricker & Weiken GmbH & Co. KG, Warstein/Germany, is one of the first quarries in Germany to be CSC certified. The Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) promotes transparency in the concrete manufacturing process and its value chain, and in the effects on the social and ecological environment. Stricker & Weiken was able achieve the silver CSC certificate. Plant manager André Thiel accepted the certificate (Figure 1).
CSC certification brings about a continuous increase in the sustainable economic activities of the cement, raw material and concrete industries. In this way, the raw materials industry is making its contribution to sustainable construction in Germany. Thiel explains: “The silver certification helps us and our customers with the award of public contracts.” This is because more and more attention is being paid to the sustainability of companies. The CSC assesses and scores the entire production and supply chain (manufacturing, products, logistics, installation). Stricker & Weiken is often at the start of the chain with its high-quality, refined limestone products.
In the construction sector, more and more investments have been made into “green buildings” for some time now. This makes sustainable construction increasingly important. The development of sustainable buildings is intended to reduce emissions and use fewer resources. Sustainable buildings are also much more valuable with lower operating and maintenance costs.
With the worldwide introduction of the CSC certification system, the CSC provides information on the extent to which companies in the concrete, cement and aggregates sector work in an ecologically, socially and economically responsible manner. The CSC certification has already been recognized by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) for the evaluation of sustainable buildings, and can be achieved in bronze, silver and gold.
Further certifications at Stricker & Weiken are currently planned or in process, e. g., certificates in accordance with the German Banking Act and the German Agricultural Society. (Stricker & Weiken/Si.)
