BUILDING products firm Marshalls is paving the way to an even greener business – by leading the field in “carbon labelling”.

The Birkby-based supplier of stone and concrete for landscaping has become the first firm to label its entire range with information about the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent created by extracting and processing raw materials, manufacturing and supplying its products.

From next month (OCT) Marshalls will have the largest number of officially carbon labelled products anywhere in the world – covering all 503 of its domestic landscaping products for driveways, paths and patios.

The company, which has won several awards for environmental achievement, has been working with the Carbon Trust’s carbon labelling pilot scheme for the past 18 months.

Marshalls group marketing director Chris Harrop said: “It is a bold step to commit at this early stage to labelling all our product range, but we wanted to do this – right from the outset.

“Labelling a few products allows consumers to see the ‘carbon footprint’ but it limits the options in terms of choosing a product with a smaller ‘footprint’ if there is nothing to compare it to.”

Mr Harrop said Marshalls was “immensely proud” to be the first company to label its entire product range, adding: “It clearly demonstrates the continued need for consumers to have environmental data on the products they buy.”

Marshalls, which has its registered office at Birkby and operations at Lowfields, Elland, became the first in its industry to launch an online carbon calculator in January last year, allowing customers to measure the carbon impact of products before they buy.

Tom Delay, ), chief executive of the Carbon Trust, said: “Our aim with the label has always been to bridge the gap between carbon-conscious businesses and their consumers.

“By labelling all 503 of its products, Marshall is not only showing its commitment to reducing its emissions, but giving consumers the opportunity to take that into account before buying.”

Last year, Marshalls was presented with the International Green Apple Award for a successful project to support wildlife at its quarry site in Maltby, South Yorkshire, and for the company’s “never-ending efforts to adapt their working practices to benefit the environment”.

Marshalls has also been presented with a certificate for achieving the Wildlife Trusts’ biodiversity benchmark at the Maltby site, which features a man-made island retreat for birdlife, wetlands, new trees and areas of grass and wild flowers.

Marshalls employs 30,000 staff at more than 60 sites. It was voted 40th most admired company by publication Management Today.

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