Kansas Quarrier Earns Sustainability Certification

OBERLIN, Ohio — U.S. Stone Industries in Herington, Kan., recently earned certification to the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard (ANSI/NSI 373) from the Natural Stone Institute.

The company achieved Silver status for its fabrication facility, which processes limestone from raw blocks of stone into usable building materials.

“Our experience throughout the certification process validated our core belief that sustainable initiatives are exceedingly beneficial to our environment, our industry, our customers, and our operations,” said Ben Retter, U.S. Stone Industries president . “We look forward to expanding the certification to multiple sites within our business.”

The predecessor companies of U.S. Stone Industries began large-scale quarrying of Kansas limestone in the 1930s and consolidated a number of firms under the U.S. Stone brand in 2001. The company now operates eight quarries and a 110,00 ft² production facility.

The Natural Stone Sustainability Standard was first published in 2014 by the Natural Stone Council. Ownership of the standard transferred to the Natural Stone Institute in early 2021, marking a significant opportunity to raise awareness about the standard within the design community and helping to position natural stone as a solution for green building goals.

Quarriers and natural-stone fabricators can look to this multi-attribute industry standard to identify ways to improve sustainability efforts in their operations. Through NSF’s third-party verification, companies can certify their compliance in areas including human health and safety, corporate governance, and environmental responsibility.

By defining best practices for land reclamation, adaptive reuse, and management of excess materials and waste, the standard helps ensure good stewardship of the land.

To learn more about the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard and source certified natural stone, visit www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/sustainability.