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Sustainability

SVC’s vision is to be a leader in environmental sustainability within the Australian precast concrete industry. We are committed to minimising our impact on the environment while fulfilling the needs of our customers and community.

SVC recognises our responsibility to help protect our community and the environment we live in. We will accomplish our vision by adopting long-term sustainable actions throughout our business operations, focusing on reusing, repurposing and recycling wherever we can, embracing new technologies and innovation, and mitigating negative environmental impacts while we continue to evaluate and improve our environmental management system.

The development of SVC’s inaugural Sustainability Charter represents our first official step towards defining our sustainability objectives, and putting the necessary processes in place to monitor and measure the impact and success of current and planned initiatives.

We are thankful for the collaboration and support of like-minded industry partners who share our approach towards an environmentally sustainable future in manufacturing and construction. We acknowledge the instrumental role these partners play in our sustainability journey, helping contribute to a better world for future generations.

OUR KEY SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATIONS

LIFE-CYCLE THINKING

A life-cycle mindset pushes us to think about the entirety of our environmental impacts. This includes using natural resources more efficiently and sourcing them more carefully.

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

We embrace new technologies and approaches to manufacturing precast concrete, in order to stay abreast of opportunities to reduce our environmental impact while remaining efficient and effective in our work.

REUSE, REPURPOSE, RECYCLE

We seek methods to embrace more circular manufacturing and operational practices, helping us to reduce waste, integrate recycled materials and reduce costs.

Decarbon-isation

We recognise the significant impact that concrete production has on global GHG emissions and are committed to carbon reduction strategies, leveraging opportunities to reduce emissions.

TOXICITY & POLLUTION CONTROL

We are committed to mitigating the risks associated with pollution, contamination or hazardous materials in our manufacturing processes, while also avoiding the use of toxic materials in our supply chain.

PROGRESS AGAINST CURRENT INITIATIVES

152.37MWh

Renewable Energy Generated in FY23

151.92t

CO2 Reduction in FY23 from Solar Energy

39.75t

Soft Plastics Diverted from Landfill in FY23

52m3

Polystyrene Diverted from Landfill in FY23

501.06kL

Rainwater Harvested in FY23

1224.96t

Concrete Recycled in FY23

52.74t

Steel Recycled in FY23

378.56t

Waste Concrete Repurposed in FY23

THANK YOU TO OUR SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERS

POWERED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY

The business operations at SVC’s Mordialloc headquarters are now fully powered by renewable energy, thanks to an extensive installation of solar panels on the office and factory buildings which was completed in 2022.

Due to the sheer number of panels installed, the solar energy generated by these panels now exceeds the power required for operational activities, allowing any excess energy to be diverted into the power grid.

CARBON SAVINGS FROM OUR SWITCH TO SOLAR

Since the successful installation of solar panels at SVC’s headquarters in Mordialloc (completed mid-2022), there has been a significant reduction in the overall CO2 emissions attributed to our business and operations. This is due to the extensive carbon savings from no longer having to rely on mains power generated through the consumption of fossil fuels.

A NEW LIFE FOR PLASTIC WASTE

SVC has invested in the adoption of a lightweight aggregate material made from recycled plastic waste. Recycled plastics offer an alternative to natural stone aggregates and provide dual benefits – simultaneously reducing the consumption of natural stone resources while repurposing harmful plastic waste.

SVC has successfully tested the recycled plastics within our in-house concrete mix designs and our standard civil concrete products now contain a percentage of recycled content, which does not impact the performance nor longevity of the products in any way.

REPURPOSING WASTE POLYSTYRENE

SVC commenced its polystyrene recycling program in September 2022, partnering with local recycling company Casafico to divert polystyrene waste away from landfill.

Uncontaminated polystyrene offcuts from SVC’s pit production processes are shredded and sent to Casafico. The polystyrene is used as a material component of Casafico’s building products, which includes walls, blocks and panels.

HARVESTING RAINWATER FOR USE IN PRODUCTION

SVC has invested in large water tanks at all factories to harvest and repurpose rainwater, using it in place of mains water to reduce our consumption of potable water.

Our harvested rainwater is used for concrete production processes such as batching, slumping and washing out.

DIVERTING CONCRETE WASTE FROM LANDFILL

Excess precast waste that does not end up as part of a final product is collected as part of SVC’s production process. This excess concrete is collected weekly by Alex Fraser, and recycled to create crushed road base as part of their Green Roads Initiative.

DIVERTING METAL WASTE FROM LANDFILL

SVC’s operational activities require the use of metal for mould fabrication and steel reinforcements. Any excess metal waste from these processes is recycled via local scrap metal recycler Highett Metal, which ensures that the scrap metal and offcuts do not end up in landfill.

Metal waste is collected regularly from SVC’s factories each month.

USING EVERY LAST BIT OF CONCRETE

When batching precast concrete mixes, there are minimum batch amounts that need to be made. This can sometimes result in excess concrete that is left over after product moulds have been filled, and typically, the excess concrete goes to waste.

To combat this problem of excess concrete waste, SVC has developed a product called EcoBlox, which are large-format, modular building blocks for outdoor applications. Leftover batched concrete is used to fill the EcoBlox moulds, ensuring the concrete is repurposed for use rather than going to landfill.

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