Sustainability
Salt River Materials Group (SRMG) takes pride in its commitment to environmental stewardship and maintains an active environmental program designed to monitor and manage environmental matters throughout the company. Our environmental team includes not only the environmental department staff, but each person in the company. The support and participation of our employees not only helps us maintain our compliance with all environmental regulations and but has resulted in a proactive approach resulting in quantifiable environmental successes. Education of SRMG employees is accomplished in part by an employee pollution prevention training program which includes both initial training and periodical updates. Initial training is being provided to staff in conjunction with the annual MSHA refresher training and will ultimately contain training specific to the each of the cement, aggregates, and fly ash facilities.
As our environmental awareness continues to evolve it more directly influences our personal and professional lives. This phenomenon is very evident at the SRMG facilities; in support of our recently adopted Value Statement "Profitability The Right Way . . . Integrity, Accountability, Excellence," environmental considerations influence our design and construction of new facilities, modify the manner in which we conduct our routine operations, and are a key component in our planning for the future.
One example of our continuing environmental efforts can be seen in our successful modernization of the Clarkdale facility. Plant modifications resulted in increased production capacity of approximately 42% and at the same time air emissions per ton of cement produced, of particulates, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) were reduced by an average of approximately 76% and only one constituent, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), increased slightly by approximately 3%. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, often associated with global warming, have decreased by 15% per ton of clinker, and by 28% per ton of cementitious product from our 1990 levels. These reductions for CO2 already exceed the targets established by SRMG as a goal for the year 2020.
In addition to air quality management, monitoring and permitting activities, SRMG environmental programs address storm water, potential oil spills, and waste management at the cement plant, aggregates and fly ash facilities. Some examples of our recent environmental successes include:
- Recycling of used grinding media has been significantly increased with a concurrent decrease in total consumption of mill balls and liners and hammers and impact blocks at the secondary crusher,
- Power consumption (electric power and fossil fuels) has been substantially reduced for raw milling, crushing, kiln operation, and finish milling,
- Potentially hazardous anti-scalent products and parts cleaners have been eliminated or replaced by nonhazardous products,
- Generation of petroleum contaminated soils (PCS) has been reduced by approximately 50%, and
- Development and implementation of environmental compliance software is nearing completion at the Clarkdale plant. This computer-based system will help us monitor regulatory requirements and meet the multitude of reporting requirements. Following successful implementation at Clarkdale, this system can be expanded to support all of the SRMG facility’s environmental needs.
SRMG employees play a key role in the identification and reporting of environmental issues and bringing those issues to the attention of management and environmental staff who are responsible for addressing environmental matters. The company is committed to the proper resolution of all environmental issues and when necessary employs outside expertise from outside consultants and regulatory agencies. SRMG facilities are routinely reviewed for compliance with all applicable environmental requirements and will continue to comply with all current and future environmental laws.
The Concrete Joint Sustainability Initiative is an industry coalition dedicated to educating ourselves, our members, and the public about the role and responsibilities of concrete in sustainable development. Click here for more info.
