You may not realize it, but by using brick from Hanson Brick, you’re dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of your project. And that’s not all. There are multiple reasons why Hanson Brick’s products are the sustainable solution for today’s world.

Durability

* Brick is a low maintenance, permanent, durable building product that won’t rot, rust, burn, corrode, decay, encourage mould growth or need painting.
* Hanson Brick products are manufactured to meet or exceed ASTM and CSA standards for durability.
* The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) LEED® rating system recognizes the durability of brick in its Materials and Resources credit section.
* Extensive research and ongoing quality control testing ensures that Hanson Brick products meet their intended service requirements.
* Brick walls are designed to include a drainage cavity, which will direct any moisture that has entered the wall back to the exterior of the structure.

Energy Conservation

* A long service life reduces energy needs. Hanson Brick products’ durability and 100+ year life cycle reduces the need for replacement, thereby eliminating further manufacturing energy required for replacement products.
* Hanson Brick strives to conserve energy in firing process, using less than 50% of the energy required to produce brick in 2004 compared to 1981. Further fuel reduction efforts since 2004 have totaled 10.8%.

Emissions

* Fuel savings since 2004 have also resulted in a significant reduction in emissions – approximately 145,075 tons of carbon dioxide.
* The majority of Hanson Brick plants maintain scrubbers on their stacks which largely eliminate emissions. More scrubbers are planned with upgrades to existing plants and construction of new plants.
* Hanson has invested a significant amount of money to upgrade plants and make them more efficient.

Environmentally Friendly

* Hanson Brick’s products are made from natural materials free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which results in better occupant health, comfort and productivity.
* Hanson’s clay brick is manufactured from clay or shale extracted from quarries in close proximity to the plant.
* Almost 100% of the other components that make up Hanson’s brick are extracted and manufactured locally – less than 100 miles from the Hanson production facility – thereby reducing emissions and costs associated with long transport of materials. Available on the Hanson Brick website is a LEED Plant Locator tool, which allows the user to identify all plants within a 500 mile (800 km) radius of their job site, based on zip code.
* Brick is transported by rail and truck. Computer programs create ways to minimize trips and ensure full loads of brick.
* In some areas, Hanson Brick trucks are equipped with GPS and on board computers to facilitate efficient deliveries.
* The majority of Hanson Brick facilities have environmental management systems in place to monitor and control effluent, emissions and resource extraction.
* Hanson Brick is a subdivision of HeidelbergCement Group – one of the leading cement manufacturers in the area of carbon dioxide emission reductions and overall corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Due to this relationship, we are constantly at the forefront of any and all advances that positively affect the environment compared to current conditions.

Recycled and Recyclable

* Using industrial by-products and recycled materials reduces the need for virgin raw materials.
* Some facilities utilize waste ceramic tile or pots, bottom ash from power stations or waste scrubber lime as part of the raw material for brick.
* Any waste or unfired brick is fed back into the manufacturing process to produce new brick.
* Many of Hanson Brick facilities utilize scrap fired brick as grog, which replaces a portion of the virgin raw materials and further reduces emissions.
* Where waste fired brick is not used as grog, it can be recycled or repurposed into kitty litter; landscaping materials for tennis courts, baseball fields or flower beds; masonry training; old, reclaimed brick for construction of new buildings; fertilizer and backfill/aggregates. Research is conducted on a continual basis to investigate raw material replacement with recycled or waste materials and alternative fuel options.
* Some facilities utilize non-hazardous, off-site waste such as ceramic tile, as part of the raw material for manufacturing brick.
* Shipments of brick are consolidated and bound with plastic bands to reduce waste at the job site. The shipment of bricks in a specially designed cube shape with areas for fork lift pickup reduces the need for pallets at all.
* Where pallets are used extensively, a pallet recovery program is in place and over 50% of pallets are recovered and reused.

Resource Management

* Recent advances in brick manufacturing have allowed the introduction of bricks with increased voids (C 216 to C 652 brick) that provide equivalent performance with respect to resisting water penetration and flexural bond strength, as researched by the National Brick Research Center in South Carolina.
* The water used to manufacture Hanson Brick products contains no added chemicals and is evaporated back into the air during the firing process.
* Hanson Brick’s newly engineered thin brick products weigh 20% of a solid brick, reducing the associated embodied energy to transport and install brick veneer.
* The quarries that supply the clay to the brick manufacturing process are managed to ensure a long life, often 50+ years, of high-quality, consistent material and are rehabilitated at the end of service life.
* The average quarry uses less than 2% of the acreage required to produce enough bricks to cover the same wall area as straw bales.

Socially Preferred

* Hanson Brick products have a high sound proofing quality, shielding occupants from distracting outside noise.
* Because of brick’s inherent strength and fire resistance, it often remains standing even under the harshest conditions.
* Hanson Brick products’ passive-solar qualities and thermal mass properties take advantage of the sun’s energy for heating and cooling, keeping rooms cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
* Hanson makes an effort to utilize raw material suppliers who have a socially responsible business plan.
* Once mining operations at a clay quarry are complete, the land is carefully backfilled and returned to a state as close as possible to what it had been, to ensure that it continues to offer future generations equivalent potential for use and development.
* Rehabilitated quarries can serve a variety of purposes including parks, natural wildlife reserves or lakes and ponds.

Hanson Brick | North America | Sustainability | Environmental Benefits