Neolith® Reaches Carbon-Neutral Status
ALMAZORA, Spain – Neolith® announced on June 26 that the company achieved carbon-neutral status.
In 2019 the brand recorded no net release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from gate-to-gate emissions.
To attain the highly-prized carbon neutral status Neolith followed the internationally recognized Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) and implemented a dynamic, sustainability strategy coupled with tactical, high-value carbon-offsetting.
This has led to carbon neutrality across the entire business, significantly seeing the brand receiving 100% of its electricity in 2019 from renewable energy sources. This measure removed a massive 7,690 metric tons of CO2 emissions.¹
Furthermore, 90% of the waste generated by Neolith is recycled and given a second life either with company operations or through authorized 3rd party players. This demonstrates a robust commitment to the circular economy.
Neolith’s surfaces also embody these principles, with up to 48% of slab weight obtained from recycled materials.
Plant machinery has been upgraded to improve energy efficiency, particularly the third production line’s furnace with the installation of an O2 and pressure control=system, significantly reducing the amount of gas consumed.
This is complemented by a 40% reduction of forklift truck diesel consumption and a 20% decrease in hazardous waste.
A policy to reduce the amounts of single-use plastic used has also been implemented. A small, but significant step towards carbon neutrality, demonstrating Neolith’s commitment to sustainable business.
All these measures directly meet GHG’s reduction objectives, which include: direct emissions company activity (e.g. natural gas, gasoil used in forklifts, cars in property), emissions from electricity used and other indirect emissions, generated from other day to day company activity.
Fundamentally, Neolith is an organisation with eco-friendly and sustainable practices at the heart of the business.
In terms of carbon offsetting, Neolith has also undertaken a number of environmental projects, in line with its wider sustainability strategy. These projects compensate for and absorb a specific quantity of CO2e. Chief amongst these is an exciting, upcoming project in Central America to protect and maintain the unique biodiversity of the Guatemalan Caribbean Conservation Coast.
Specifically, the Guatemalan Caribbean Conservation Coast project will see Neolith working to protect the unique biodiversity within the remaining forests in the region. The brand will help to address the drivers of deforestation through effective law enforcement, land use planning, education, economic opportunities, and sustainable agroforestry initiatives.
As a direct result of the project activities, over four million tCO2e will be avoided by 2021, the equivalent of taking more than 440,000 homes off the grid for a year. When considering the lifetime of the project over 30 years, the tCO2e avoided will be closer to c. 22 million. There are also important biodiversity benefits, protecting over 400 species of birds have been documented in the project and the habitat of an abundance of mammals and reptiles, including 30 High Conservation Value (HCV) species.
“Corporate social responsibility is not only about ensuring your business practices are as sustainable and ethical as possible, it’s also about giving back to wider society,” said José Luis Ramón, Neolith CEO. “Particularly, helping others less fortunate than yourself. Our work on Guatemalan Caribbean Conservation Coast project will have myriad benefits, not only for this unique region’s biodiversity but also the people who live there. It will strengthen the natural habitat and provide a much-needed socio-economic boost to the local population, which is one of the poorest in Central America.”
“Given the brand’s founding vision, achieving carbon neutrality represents the achievement of a core company objective,” said Mar Esteve Cortes, Neolith Chief Marketing Officer. “I’m proud that architects, designers and consumers can choose Neolith’s surfaces, confident they are investing in the greenest sintered stone available. This will make their projects even more eco-friendly.”
¹ Determined with the official calculator of the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition (Ministerio de Transición Ecológica).
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