At a time of climate crisis – when public concern about the environment and climate change has never been higher – we thought we’d write to Aggregate Industries’ CEO Guy Edwards to ask him about the company’s proposal for Straitgate Farm.
It was an ideal opportunity for Mr Edwards to explain why Straitgate is so important to the company that it justifies a 23 mile haulage route between quarry face and processing plant, an ideal opportunity to explain why the underlying material at Straitgate is worth the environmental cost of 2.5 million HGV miles.
This is what we wrote:
Dear Mr Edwards,
You will be aware of the intense and growing focus on ESG issues, not only by the public and media, but also by the investment world; LafargeHolcim tapped the latter only last week with an €850 million sustainability-linked bond.
Given that Aggregate Industries claims “sustainability is at the heart of our business, and is incorporated in all of our operations”, we would be interested in any comments you may have about the company’s planning application in Devon for a new sand and gravel quarry at Straitgate Farm.
You may already know of this application. Over the last decade, your company has struggled to address the many constraints linked with this site, not least on groundwater. The irreversible damage to the many surrounding private water supplies and Grade I listed Cadhay from your company’s proposal has been unequivocally set out in a damning report by leading authority Professor Brassington.
Your company’s application is for "up to 1.5 million tonnes of as raised sand and gravel". However, significantly less than a million tonnes of saleable material would be recovered, given that waste accounts for 20% of that figure, and elevated groundwater levels have yet to be factored in. This ignores the fact that similar local sites, Marshbroadmoor and Venn Ottery, respectively yielded 80% and 50% less than forecast due to geological constraints.
However, what sets the Straitgate application apart – at a time that councils and the UK government have declared a climate emergency – is the issue of sustainability.
Your company is proposing a 46 mile round trip to process every as-dug load; a staggering 2.5 million miles in total – before any onward delivery of finished product.
No other UK aggregates operator has 23 miles separating quarry face and processing plant. Clearly this – together with Aggregate Industries’ lamentable progress reducing carbon emissions – sends the unequivocal message to the wider world that sustainability is neither at the heart of your business nor incorporated into all of your operations.
You can google Straitgate for further information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Mr Edwards – as we posted in Aggregate Industries' CEO talks net zero – has previously claimed:
With the government committing to producing ‘net zero’ greenhouse gases by 2050, the construction industry’s role in safeguarding the future of our planet has never been more prevalent.
While the magnitude of the task facing us in achieving ‘net zero’ is clear, we’re confident that a forward-thinking, progressive industry like ours will take up the mantel and lead the way in demonstrating the lengths we can go to reduce our environmental impact, which will positively impact us all.
So, naturally, we were interested to hear how Mr Edwards squared such fine words with his company's plan for Straitgate. This is what he wrote:
Thank you for your letter dated 23rd November.
At Aggregates Industries we take our responsibility to the environment and communities in which we operate very seriously, which is why it is one of our company's strategic pillars.
In response to your letter, I would like to make you aware that shortly, we will be formally submitting additional information for our 2017 planning application to Devon County Council, which will include transport sustainability data.
This will then be published on the County Council's website and subject to formal planning consultation.
Is anyone surprised by the brevity of Mr Edwards' reply, or the lack of meaningful response to the central issue raised?
Of course, Aggregates Industries has been promising to furnish additional information shortly for more than 3 years now; determination of its application has been extended 11 times as a result. Perhaps this time will be different.
And we’ve already posted about the "transport sustainability data" issue, how Devon County Council suggested to Aggregate Industries that they should ask Exeter University to help with (greenwash away?) the emissions related to Straitgate.
Presumably Mr Edwards' lack of concern about the 2.5 million mile haulage scheme is an indication of "the lengths we [Aggregate Industries] can go to reduce our environmental impact"?
Clearly, if Aggregates Industries took its responsibility to the environment "very seriously" we would not have posted Climate emergency? Not at Aggregate Industries. CO2 emissions increase again.
If Aggregates Industries took its responsibility to the environment "very seriously" we would not have posted about how the company has seemingly given up publicly reporting its own CO2 emissions.
If Aggregates Industries took its responsibility to the environment "very seriously", the company’s application for Straitgate Farm would have been scrapped years ago.
