Hanson UK has produced its first sustainability report since becoming part of HeidelbergCement Group in 2007.

The document includes information, case studies and targets on a variety of topics from carbon emissions to health and safety and brings together, for the first time, data from the former Hanson PLC UK businesses, Castle Cement and SRM – all of which are now fully integrated under the banner of Hanson UK.

As a basis for the report, Hanson has adopted the concrete industry’s Sustainable Construction Strategy, which includes a commitment to report annually on sustainability performance, and from which 14 key performance indicators have been developed for future reporting.

The 2009 report highlights that Hanson is the UK’s lowest producer of CO2 per tonne of cement, five per cent below the industry average, that overall energy consumption per tonne of product has fallen by nearly 17 per cent since 2005 and that the company uses more waste than it generates.

Martin Crow, Hanson’s head of environment and sustainability, said: “The report highlights the progress we have made in recent years. In particular, the use of alternative fuels at our cement operations has resulted in savings in fossil fuels, as well as reducing carbon emissions. We are also continuing to work with external partners on developing new products which reduce energy input, such as cold mix asphalts.

“Alongside others in the industry, we are working closely with the Carbon Trust to see how the sector’s energy use can be reduced.

“In the future, achieving carbon targets set by the UK Government will be a big challenge, but this report states our commitment to reduce carbon emissions by five per cent per tonne across the business by 2012* on top of the 12 per cent reduction achieved since 2005.”

*This is based on reducing energy consumption by five per cent per tonne for building products, aggregates and concrete between 2008 and 2012, and by one per cent per tonne for cement over the same period, based on 2005 baseline. CO2 reductions are based on reducing carbon emissions by five per cent per tonne for building products, concrete and aggregates by 2012, based on 2008 figures and reducing net carbon emissions per tonne of cement by five per cent by 2012 based on 2008 baseline.