PRESS NOTICE 29 May 2007

British-made precast concrete paving gets a clear sustainability thumbs-up over Indian sandstone.

British-made precast concrete paving has half the environmental impact of imported Indian sandstone.

These are the findings of new research by BRE, the UK's leading authority for independent impartial advice in the built environment, commissioned by the British Precast Concrete Federation.

With cheap imported stone from India taking an increasing slice of Britain's external paving market, this is a clear warning that transport and its associated carbon emissions often tip the balance when assessing the comparative sustainability of alternative products.

The typical British precast paving product causes half the impact of an Indian sandstone equivalent, measured in UK Ecopoints. The annual environmental impact of a typical UK citizen is 100 Ecopoints. More Ecopoints indicate higher environmental impact.

Jane Anderson from BRE said: "We have developed the Ecopoints system to allow consumers, designers and contractors to make objective assessments of the impact of their decisions on the environment based on normalised data.

"From our research, British-made precast concrete paving gets a clear sustainability thumbs-up over Indian sandstone."

The BREEAM Centre is currently using the Ecopoints system in its life cycle assessment tools and consultancy, including BREEAM, the software tool Envest and its Green Guide to Specification.

British Precast chief executive Martin Clarke commented: "We are finding both specifiers and clients are increasingly concerned about the whole environmental impact of imported construction products. This study supports our case that concrete products made from locally sourced raw materials are the best. What is more, UK products keep our own people employed and add to the economy.

"We trust that the BRE Green Guide to specification covering landscaping products and published later this year will deepen awareness of the sustainability benefits of British-manufactured paving."

ENDS

For more information please contact Martin Clarke, Chief Executive, British Precast, on 0116 222 9842 or martin.clarke@britishprecast.org <mailto:martin.clarke@britishprecast.org>

Notes to editors:

1. The Building Research Establishment or BRE has been providing consultancy, certification, testing and training services since 1921 is to build a better world and leave an unmistakable imprint on a highly regarded and sustainable built environment. Its authority derives from knowledge, independence, objectivity and ethics.

2. The BRE has developed UK Ecopoints as a single score assessment of the following environmental impacts of construction products or processes:

• Climate change
• Fossil fuel depletion
• Ozone depletion
• Freight transport
• Human toxicity to air
• Human toxicity to water
• Waste disposal
• Water extraction
• Acid deposition
• Ecotoxicity
• Eutrophication
• Summer smog
• Minerals extraction

UK Ecopoints are derived by adding together the score for each impact, calculated by multiplying the normalised impact with its percentage weighting. A pamphlet explaining the system is available at www.bre.co.uk/pdf/076.pdf <http://www.bre.co.uk/pdf/076.pdf>

3. The British Precast Concrete Federation <http://www.britishprecast.org> is the trade association of precast concrete manufacturers, which traces its roots back to 1918. Its main aims are to promote precast concrete in the construction market, to disseminate information through industry representation and by shared knowledge, and to add value to its member companies.

4. Precast paving is supplied by the following members of Interpave, a product association within British Precast: Aggregate Industries, Brett Group, Cemex, Marshalls and Townscape Products Ltd.

5. Interpave published a brochure on sustainable paving in December 2004. This is available for download at www.paving.org.uk/pdf/ppave.pdf <http://www.paving.org.uk/pdf/ppave.pdf>