University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

Figure 1: A generic Life-cycle of a precast concrete product
The established “More from Less” sustainability programme could use a sustained
product stewardship approach, by looking at the entire life cycle of precast concrete
products from cradle to cradle, i.e. by efficient and effective use of constituent
ingredients in the whole precast production processes from extraction and sourcing
of raw materials, mix design, production, consumption and end-of-life usage. This
could help the industry to contribute meaningfully to the UK government’s policies,
plus clients’ and stakeholders’ demands for more sustainable construction. For
example, it could help mitigate impacts arising from transport, energy, resource use
(materials, water and waste) among others. The UK concrete industry’s guidance
document on responsible sourcing of construction products provides an indication of
its willingness to adopt this approach, espousing;
“…a holistic approach to managing the social, environmental and
economic impacts of a product from the sources of its raw materials,
through its manufacture and delivery, and, ideally, through its use, reuse
and recycling, until its final disposal as waste with no further value”
(CISFC, 2008).
Furthermore the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in collaboration with the
UK precast concrete industry and others have developed a framework standard for
the Responsible sourcing of construction products (BRE BES6001: 2009 Issue 2).
According to BRE Global (2009), “Responsible sourcing of materials (RSM) is
demonstrated through an ethos of supply chain management and product
stewardship and encompasses social, economic and environmental dimensions”.
BES 6001 provides a route to BREEAM family certification scheme through
obtaining credits. It has set a standard with some compulsory elements that each
organisation must meet in addition to a higher compliance level that leads to higher
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