Environmental impact High
Employer/employee ranking 24/42
Staff numbers 7,000
Energy reduction 7%
Recycling n/a

We will soon all be living in green houses if Aggregate Industries has its way. But the construction and building materials company is not suggesting we live among tomato plants and cacti. Aggregate is part of a group of firms looking into “zero carbon” houses, which have improved energy efficiency and are built from low-impact materials.

A prototype which was on display at an exhibition earlier this year is being relocated to Aggregate Industries’ Leicestershire headquarters, where it will be used to showcase and test the technology involved. A subsidiary of the company, Charcon, made the concrete walls of the house, which are designed to improve a building’s energy efficiency.

Staff feel that investment in such environmental initiatives is justified, giving a green score of 88%. The company’s products include asphalt and concrete, and it also has more than 70 quarries of crushed rock, sand and gravel. A green score of just 15% shows employees are well aware of the company’s adverse impact on the environment, but a 71% score shows staff appreciate the efforts to minimise it.

Waste is an inevitable by-product of a building materials company, but Aggregates Industries makes efforts to recycle where possible. Although no target is set for recycling, all metal waste is recycled, as is 100% of used oil, 80% of cured concrete, 50% of wood, 20% of general waste and 5% of hazardous waste.

Ash Solutions, a subsidiary of the company, uses fly ash — a waste product of burning coal — as an alternative to cement in concrete products and also sells it on to other companies.

Employees say the company takes its environmental responsibilities seriously (81%). The last 18 months have seen the company focus on its direct impact on its local communities and environment, after two incidents caused water pollution. A programme was launched last year to investigate the incidents and to reduce the risk of a repeat at quarries.

Employees say the firm’s environmental impacts are improving (77%), and the figures back this up. The company’s 2006 target for energy reduction was 2%. In fact, Aggregate Industries gas and electricity consumption was reduced by 7%. Environmentally-friendly biofuel is now used for freight, and Aggregate Industries uses renewable energy.