Sibelco Claims Top Prize at Staffordshire Green Awards

December 2007

Staffordshire County Council has presented quarry operator, Sibelco Minerals UK, with a top prize at this year’s Green Awards in recognition of the energy savings made at the company’s Moneystone Quarry in Whiston. For the second year running, Sibelco’s environmental performance has been recognised at the Green Awards, this year beating off stiff competition to take the Gold Gilt Award in the Sustainable Business category. The prize was presented by Terry Dix, Chair of Staffordshire County Council at a special ceremony held at JCB, Rocester.

Over the past 4 years Sibelco has led the quarrying industry in terms of energy efficiency, cutting carbon emissions by more than 24,000 tonnes at its operations throughout the UK. This year’s award was in recognition of the major energy savings made at Moneystone Quarry where the company has invested heavily in new technologies to reduce the energy consumed in the processing of industrial sands.

As part of the award, Sibelco received a cheque for £500 which the company has pledged to double and spend on helping local schools learn more about renewable energy. “In the new year we’ll be presenting several schools with renewable energy education kits which include wind turbines, solar water heaters and photovoltaic units,” explained Derek Johnson, Sibelco UK’s Energy Efficiency Manager. “The kits are a great way to get children thinking about climate change and renewable technologies and will help us to pass on some of the lessons we’ve learned as a business.”

Rewarding and promoting the county’s very best environmental and sustainability initiatives, the Staffordshire Green Awards this year received a record number of entries. The initiative is organised in partnership by Staffordshire County Council, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, Staffordshire Tourism, Environment Agency, Government Office West Midlands, Staffordshire Business and Environment Network.

Commenting on the award, Sibelco’s Resources Director, Gary Stringer, said: “I’m delighted that Staffordshire County Council has once again acknowledged the efforts made by everyone at Moneystone in further enhancing the quarry’s leading environmental performance. The standard of entries for this year’s Green Awards was exceptionally high and it is a real privilege to have taken this prestigious prize.”

In 2003 Sibelco became the first company in the quarrying sector to gain accreditation under the Government’s Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme, the UK's only independent award recognising achievements in reducing energy use by leading organisations in industry, commerce and the public sector. In 2006 the company gained a further three years of accreditation under the scheme, placing Sibelco amongst an elite network of 200 UK organisations recognised for their active reduction of carbon emissions.