Stone is one of the most durable materials you can use for any application. When specified and detailed correctly, our products can last for hundreds of years, resulting in some of the lowest embodied energy of any material. Developing and maintaining a sustainable operation is a Coldspring core value that not only affects how we do business, but also shapes our corporate culture.
Stone is a natural resource. However, the way it is quarried, processed, transported and used has a significant bearing on the environmental impact of any particular use. Our foundry and other non-stone operations also benefit from the sustainable practices we use to maximize the utilization of our resources while minimizing energy use.
Building on a long-standing commitment to establishing and promoting industry-wide best practices that treat the source of our products (the earth) with respect, Coldspring is dedicated to developing and maintaining resource management and processing practices that minimize our impact on the environment.
While natural stone is an inherently sustainable material, the way it is extracted and processed has a direct impact on its overall quality of sustainability. Because practices can vary widely depending on the stone supplier, it’s important to be specific and clear when writing specifications with sustainable stone in mind. Establishing clear and concise project goals with the owner upfront and writing precise specifications can help ensure your goals are met. Learn more in our free eBook, Specifying Sustainable Stone: A Guide to Helping Owners Get What They Want.
EMANOUIL SPASSOV | ASLA, PLA, SITES AP, LEED AP BD+C | HGA
Coldspring has added the Declare label to its product offering to assist project teams in determining how best to source local products that support regional economies.
The ANSI/NSI 373 Sustainable Production of Natural Dimension Stone Certification is a third-party verification standard ensuring architects and owners that stone for their buildings is produced in an economic, environmental and socially responsible manner.
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Coldspring is focused on improving energy efficiency, thereby reducing carbon impacts as a part of our effort to implement lean manufacturing and control costs while maintaining the highest safety, environmental and corporate financial standards. We have a corporate goal to reduce our energy consumption by 2% each year with various strategies in place to obtain this goal, including how we replace and maintain our equipment, an upgrade to LED light bulbs, an idling policy within our quarry operations, and the addition of solar panels in fall 2018. It’s all to improve our process and optimize efficiencies in the usage of energy.
We strive to utilize everything we extract from the earth that directly impacts the quantity of land affected by extraction and processing. We seek to minimize our impacts on habitat, and to ensure that, when we are finished using a particular site, it can be returned effectively for use as a high-value habitat.
* Post-closure reclamation plans of certified quarries can be made available upon request.
Although our products, properly installed, will last for generations, we must be ever mindful of the solid waste that is generated throughout the value stream (plastic banding, foam sheets, tires, oil, office waste, etc.). Coldspring aims to decrease the amount of waste that goes to landfill at all stages of our products’ value chain under our control.
Coldspring strives to develop strategies to be efficient with water usage. We must do our part to minimize our fresh water consumption and to ensure the quality of water we release back to the environment. We currently recycle more than 90% of the water used in operations.
A good corporate citizen is one that makes informed and responsible choices in all areas of its business. We must treat our employees well, care for our communities, be good stewards of the environment and embody a culture of continuous improvement. We value transparency, honesty, hard work and empathy for the impact that any product has on people and the environment.
Making sure that chemicals are used as sparingly as possible – and responsibly, where required – is a key component of corporate sustainability and environmental leadership. Following a third-party audit of our chemical use, we are now actively looking for ways to eliminate “red-list” chemicals in our operation.
We recognize, as many do, that natural stone is an environmentally preferable material. Especially when compared to many other products such as concrete or composites, stone is highly durable, requires minimal processing and is locally available in many markets. Yet we understand that we have a responsibility to be the best within our industry – the greenest stone manufacturer in the world.
Learn more about the sustainability efforts we undertake at Coldspring by reaching out to us today.
