Chris Fletcher (Director Admixture & UGC Systems -
UK & Ireland) receiving the sustainability award
from Martin Clarke, Chief Executive of British Precast
BASF Construction Chemicals (UK) has been awarded the title of Sustainability Champion 2008 by the British Precast Concrete Federation after showing that the use of the company’s products can save three times more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire amount caused by their production and disposal.
To achieve this and other ambitious environmental targets, BASF continues to develop innovative technologies and materials for sustainable climate protection, spending around €400 million of its research and development budget in the areas of energy efficiency, climate protection, resource conservation and renewable raw materials.
In areas such as construction, automobiles and industrial production, BASF products help its customers to save more than 250 million tonnes of CO2 worldwide.
BASF won the title of Sustainability Champion 2008 with its Energy Management project in the British Precast Concrete Federation’s Associate Member Sustainability Best Practice Awards, which were started this year to reward excellence in projects that focus on social, economic and environmental benefits.
The award submission was made by BASF Construction Chemicals’ Admixtures division, highlighting its progress in the field of concrete, where it has developed concepts for greater sustainability in the production of precast concrete and manufactured concrete products, optimising processes and use of energy.
In the precast concrete sector, BASF’s proven Zero Energy System (ZES) concept has used technology to transform precast production into a much more sustainable process through Zero Energy Concrete – self placing and compacting concrete which can fill even complex, heavily reinforced sections from one delivery location.
For the manufactured concrete products (MCP) industry, the BASF FIT 4 VALUE concept supports the need for process optimisation and the enhancement of product performance. Using the company’s RheoFIT admixtures, the FIT 4 VALUE concept optimises the mix design, cycle time, appearance and durability of manufactured concrete products
Martin Clarke, Chief Executive of the British Precast Concrete Federation, said: “After five years of running a successful and unique sustainability award scheme for our manufacturing members, this year we decided to extend the programme into our supply chains both upstream and downstream.
“A new Sustainability Champion Award has therefore been launched for our Associate Members and I am delighted that BASF are one of the first winners. Their approach to energy management is a real boost for the precast sector in improving our sustainability credentials, while at the same time improving the bottom line for members.”
Geoff Mackey, BASF Head of Sustainable Development (Europe North) said; "We are delighted to have this area of our work recognised in this way. Doing business sustainably for us means applying the principles of sustainability throughout our business. In BASF we also place this knowledge at the disposal of our customers so they can make use of the sustainability know-how of BASF experts in order to differentiate themselves from competitors. This way, sustainability contributes to the economic success of BASF and our customers.”