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Sustainability Milestone – Brickworks Celebrates a Decade of Carbon Neutral Bricks
Occupying a special place in history, the Brickworks manufacturing plant in Longford is the first and only plant to produce carbon-neutral bricks in Australia. As the company celebrates 10 years of its Daniel Robertson range of certified carbon-neutral bricks, the building industry is reminded of the pioneering role of Brickworks in advancing sustainable construction.
At the core of the Brickworks operation is the belief that bricks offer the ideal means to enduring design. The company’s 100-year guarantee on clay bricks testifies not only to the longevity of its offering, but also to the Brickworks understanding of material within the context of sustainability. Inherently robust, bricks do not require frequent replacement or repair, instead providing prolonged, consistent performance in the form of thermal insulation and structural integrity. The installation of the product represents the end of the construction process as there is no need to apply a finishing substance to ensure durability. In addition, bricks are recyclable, with a life cycle that far surpasses that of material competitors.
When the Brickworks Daniel Robertson range received carbon-neutral certification in 2013 under the original Australian Government’s National Carbon Offset Standard, it marked the greatest environmental achievement of the company to date. Assessment for the certification is rigorous; whilst products must be found to reduce the carbon emissions of the direct manufacturing process, a multitude of other operations also influence the result, including raw material extraction, onsite transport, product deliveries, water usage, packaging, waste disposal and business. Brickworks has implemented an ongoing program of improvements to its operations, introducing vital processes such as waste handling and recycling of both waste and water, as well as incremental reductions in the consumption of natural gas and electricity.
At the Brickworks Longford plant, the decision to use sawdust as the biofuel to fire the brick kilns has proved most impactful, allowing the operation to avoid over 70,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in 10 years. The sawdust is a waste product of the local timber industry and works by maintaining the firing cycle initially started by a small amount of natural gas – any carbon emissions that remain are offset by the purchase of carbon credits. It is by embracing considered changes to procedures and the onset of new initiatives that Brickworks has reduced its carbon emissions in Australia by 46 per cent since 2006.
It is by embracing considered changes to procedures and the onset of new initiatives that Brickworks has reduced its carbon emissions in Australia by 46 per cent since 2006.
“We are immensely proud to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of certified carbon-neutral bricks in Australia,” says Brett Ward, General Manager of International Marketing at Brickworks. Having demonstrated an innovative approach to sustainability, Brickworks has earned its position as an industry leader and continues to inspire businesses to reduce their carbon footprint.
