Steel for Crossrail gains BES 6001 Eco-Reinforcement certification - BRE Group
Steel for Crossrail gains BES 6001 Eco-Reinforcement certification
About
Established in 1984, Express Reinforcements Ltd has grown to become a UK market leader in the supply of reinforcing products through its four UK-based fabrication facilities.
Skanska is one of the world’s leading construction groups with expertise in construction, development of commercial and residential projects and public-private partnerships. Skanska carries out all aspects of the construction, development and infrastructure process – from financing projects, through design and construction to facilities management, operation and maintenance.
Background
Crossrail is the biggest engineering project in Europe and forms a major part of the London Mayor’s Transport Strategy. Crossrail will connect 37 stations, including Heathrow Airport and Maidenhead in the west with Canary Wharf, Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.
Challenges
Skanska UK launched their Sustainable Procurement Policy in April 2009, stimulated in part by CEO Johan Karlstrom’s ambition for the company to become the “leading green project developer and contractor”. The policy included references to the responsible sourcing of materials, influenced by the UK Government Strategy for Sustainable Construction and the publication of BES 6001 in October 2008. To Skanska UK these documents confirmed the growing importance of the subject.
As a fundamental part of its business ethos, Crossrail intended to follow the Greater London Authorities’ requirements on responsible procurement, which included ethical sourcing and environmental sustainability. Certification of construction products through BES 6001 is recognised by schemes such as BREEAM Infrastructure, which assesses the sustainability of infrastructure projects.
Solutions
In 2008, Express Reinforcements Ltd recognised a strategic need to implement a formally recognised standard of certification to establish an environmentally-friendly, sustainably sourced supply chain for its reinforcing steel products. As a result, Express Reinforcements Ltd worked with BRE Global along with other UK fabricators, mills and key stakeholders to develop the Eco-Reinforcement scheme. It’s a responsible sourcing sector scheme linked to the BRE environmental and sustainability standard, BES 6001.
Partnership between Express Reinforcements Ltd and Skanska
Skanska UK have been a core supporter of sustainability in construction for many years. Following the launch of their Sustainable Procurement Policy in 2009 they established a strategic purchasing agreement with the steel reinforcement supplier, Express Reinforcements Ltd. A key element of this agreement was that Express Reinforcements Ltd would work towards achieving certification to a responsible sourcing standard that met the requirements of BES 6001.
As a result, Express Reinforcements made a commitment in May 2010 to achieving BES 6001 Eco-Reinforcement certification by August 2010 in order to meet Skanska’s commitment to procure 100% BES 6001 Eco-Reinforcement certified reinforcing steel on the Crossrail project. In July 2010 Express Reinforcements Ltd secured the certification and went on to supply this reinforcing steel to Skanska on their first piece of work for Crossrail, the Royal Oak Portal.
Benefits
Continuing to work in partnership, Skanska and Express Reinforcements Ltd have now gone on to supply well over 16,000 Tonnes of BES 6001 Eco-Reinforcement certified reinforcing steel for Crossrail for other works including those at Pudding Mill Lane and Limmo Peninsula, the Thames Tunnel’s Plumstead Portal, and Bond Street and Paddington Stations.