Northstone Logo

Environment

DragonflyAs a major operator in the extraction and construction materials industry in Northern Ireland, Northstone's Materials Division has to manage the large and significant environmental impacts generated by its:

  • roadstone quarries
  • sand pits
  • Lough Neagh sand extraction sites
  • a limestone quarry
  • asphalt plants
  • ready-to-use concrete and mortar plants
  • concrete block and tile plants
  • road and airfield construction activities

As a responsible company with a concern for the environment, we manage our environmental impacts through the continued implementation of our long-standing ISO 14001 Environmental Management System which is independently accredited by the British Standard Institute (BSI). Our environmental commitments are stated in our Environmental Policy, copies of which can be provided on request.

Between 2004 and December 2010, we were fully committed to the Aggregate Levy Credit Scheme's Environmental Code of Practice. Under the Scheme, each site was assessed against the code of practice on a two-year cycle by an IEMA registered auditor. From the auditor's report, environmental improvement notices were drawn up and issued by the NIEA (who administered the scheme on behalf of HMRC). Compliance with the code and the improvement notices was checked by the NIEA who carried out their own verification audits.

Companies compliant with the Scheme were granted an 80% rebate on the Aggregate Tax. The Scheme was drawn up in recognition of the fact that Northern Ireland had a land border with the Republic of Ireland.

At the close of the Scheme, Northstone's Materials Division had completed all improvement notices to the satisfaction of the NIEA.

The ALCS code of practice was far broader in scope than ISO 14001, consisting of sixteen main impact areas and some ninety four sub-clauses. More environmental impacts were covered, such as community relations, biodiversity, site hydrology, archaeology, geodiversity and restoration. The company still operates to the code and stands in the benefit of it.

Some examples of how we manage and discharge our environmental responsibilities are detailed below:

Manufacturing sites

  • We store fuel and oil in bulk. All our storage is bunded with controlled filling and draw-off.
  • We provide spill kits and spill response training.
  • We ensure that our crushing, screening, asphalt and concrete plant dust abatement systems are maintained and operated effectively at all times and in compliance with our Pollution Prevention & Control (PPC) Permits.
  • We impound and treat our trade effluent (i.e., site rainwater run-off) prior to discharge to ensure that it meets our NIEA discharge consent requirements.
  • We minimise noise and disturbance, e.g., we employ the latest blasting techniques with sequence delayed detonations which minimises the peak instantaneous charge, thus reducing blast vibration and air-overpressure to well within limits.
  • Most of our sites are large, with only a proportion of the site being extracted or built on. Most of our sites have significant areas of relatively undisturbed natural and semi-natural habitat with good biodiversity. Many of our quarries, with cliff-like quarry faces, are home to nesting peregrine falcons. Old sand and dust stockpiles play host to nesting sand martins during the spring and summer months. We record the biodiversity present on our sites, each of which has a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), through which location managers manage protected species such as the peregrines and sand martins.

Community

Moth TrappingIt is our policy to be "good neighbours" and to engage positively with the communities around our locations in the following ways:

  • We have a formal complaints system and we record and deal fairly with all complaints regarding our activities and/or environmental performance.
  • We hold open days.
  • We facilitate school visits.
  • We facilitate visits by other interested parties, e.g., geological societies, graduate PhD geologists and moth trappers/recorders.

Energy

By the very nature of our business, we are an intensive user of energy, e.g., each year, our asphalt plants dry and heat many thousands of tonnes of aggregate up to 170°C. We take energy management, from both environmental and cost points of view, seriously. The Carbon Trust has carried out energy audits around our locations and we have used their findings to inform our energy management strategy, policy and plan.

Since 2007, we have worked to an annual energy management plan across all our sites and business activities. We seek to gain 3% energy savings year on year through the continuing implementation of the plan. Each of our locations has an appointed "Energy Champion". We run an annual Energy Saving Ideas competition.

We have achieved significant energy savings by using energy monitoring metrics, e.g., SCADA systems, ultrasound detection (compressed air systems), infra-red cameras (heat leakage on buildings, plant and insulated tipper trucks).

We are obliged to the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) . We monitor our energy use and compare our performance (kWH/tonne) against industry benchmarks.

Recycling and sustainability

The winning of rock, sand and gravel for the production of aggregates, cement and concrete, all essential construction products upon which the whole of society depends, is, of necessity at the expense of a finite natural resource. To reduce our dependence on primary (virgin) won aggregates, we produce recycled aggregates at our Croaghan, Ballymena, North Down, Carrickmore and Mountfield Quarries. These locations have waste management exemption permits from the NIEA and can receive bituminous and concrete wastes for storage and the production of recyclated aggregates and fills. Our recyclates are made in accordance with the WRAP Quality Protocol and are produced to the grading and mechanical properties specified. This attention to quality ensures that the recyclates we supply will be fit for their intended use.