Seamus McKeague – Chairman Creagh Concrete Products Ltd
Creagh are very aware of the environmental impacts of our Products & Activities. We have developed our Roadmap to Net Zero, which through Strategy & Innovation we will mitigate and eliminate our Carbon emissions.
Policy & Scope
Dedicated management and incremental elevation of safety, health, environment, quality, energy, carbon reduction and responsible sourcing is paramount to the economic sustainability of our company, employees, contractors and suppliers.
We have an overarching sustainability policy reviewed annually to reflect changes and adjust strategy where appropriate. Our minimum standards are reflected by our values, we ‘do the right thing’ and comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. Working sustainably is a condition of employment at Creagh Group.
Business & Product Innovation
We will develop business and product innovation by: ‘Collaborating with academic partner Universities, trade bodies and stakeholder groups supported by consulting experts as necessary.
To create value within our business systems we will deploy models of Operational Excellence to meet our customers’ needs not only in products but in lowering the embedded carbon within our products. Our sustainability performance will be measured by aligning with and attaining certification to ISO & other relevant management standards. Providing stakeholders with appropriate performance information against our certifications to the following standards:
Health, Safety & Wellbeing
We are committed to the maintenance of a safe & healthy workplace for all. We assess, mitigate and eliminate risks in the workplace by continuously improving our performance and implementation of Standard Operating Practices guided by our Certified ISO Standard 45001. We operate an occupational health programme designed to support our Team.
Environmental Stewardship
We have and continue to maintain highest standards of environmental stewardship throughout our company. This commitment has been evidenced by the approved Biodiversity Charter award from BiTCNI for the exemplary work carried out at two of our quarries, specifically the translocation of newts into a protected environment years before works begin at the facility.
In addition; the Local Environmental Agency supervised and approved the successful translocation of Blanket Bog and smooth newts, maintaining a natural habitat and flora & fauna within the facility.
Case Studies
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High Efficiency Air Compressor
Through a dedicated Predictive Maintenance Programme our site engineers invested in a high efficiency air compressor deployed in our stairs manufacturing facility at our Toome Site.
The air compressor was installed with optimal design characteristics in mind, during the scoping stage the internal engineering team determined how to produce maximum energy from the compressor and utilise resulting heat which is a by- product of compressing air.
As cold air is denser than warm air it requires less energy to compress, it was important to ensure intake air was drawn from outside the manufacturing building avoiding warm air, the team ducted the air intake manifold to an exterior wall to achieve the objective. Given the production facility requires heat to expedite the cement curing process the heat byproduct was directed internally thereby supplementing the heating systems used in the manufacturing processes.
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Heavy plant Investment
Over the Company’s 50 year history strategic investment has positioned the business an optimal ‘Vertically Integrated’ position, as such the Company owns and operates several Quarries, enabling Creagh’s strict Policy criteria for Responsible Aggregates Sourcing, such as high quality sand and gravel. These aggregates are all sourced within a 25 mile radius of the main product facility at Toome, Co Antrim, thereby eliminating significant transport miles compared with competitors, importantly delivering lower embedded carbon build choice for Creagh’s valued customers who continue to push the boundaries on the Sustainable Build Environment.
Heavy plant investment: Loading Shovel replacement for Higher Fuel Efficient model reducing fuel demand, resulting in much lower activity related Carbon emissions.
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Energy Efficiency
Through a dedicated Predictive Maintenance Programme our site engineers optimised absorbed power form our electricity supply by replacing deteriorating Capacitors this optimised power usage by 8% reducing the total power required from the national Grid resulting lower carbon emissions.
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Electric Vehicles
As part of Creagh’s drive towards Net Zero Carbon Emissions the company continuously adapts to global and national influences and evidenced based Science.
Phase 1 of this project contributing to our Net Zero Goals we have introduced electric charging at our largest site enabling charging during working hours.
The company has elected to provide access to the charging points to the Public encouraging uptake of hybrid and EV vehicles.
Publicly available fast charge stations will be Phase 11 of this project located at our facility adjacent to a major traffic route outside the village of Toome.
By allocating space within our facility we are supporting & encouraging our employees, and the wider Public with the transition to the low carbon transport mandated by Government Policy.
