A QUARRYING business in Huddersfield has become the first in its field to gain a major industry accreditation.

Johnsons Wellfield Quarries, based at Crosland Hill, is the first natural stone producer in the UK to achieve Building Research Establishment BES 6001 certification.

At the same time, the company has also received BS EN ISO 14001 Environmental Management System certification.

The fact that Johnsons achieved a “very good” rating in the BES 6001 in combination with BS EN ISO 14001 means that all natural stone products produced by the firm offer the maximum points or credits available in the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM documents.

Johnsons are part of theŠMyers Group, whichŠis aŠfamily owned group of companies providingŠproducts, services and materials to the construction industry. The companies are based in West, South and North Yorkshire with the head office situated in Huddersfield.

A spokeswoman for Johnsons said: “The BRE Environmental and Sustainability Standard BES 6001 for responsible sourcing of construction products is recognised worldwide as setting the framework for assessing, measuring and improving sustainability and environmental performance.

“This supplements the already recognised BS EN ISO 14001 certification, which is an essential part of the jigsaw in terms of environmental management.

“Both standards feed into the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM documents which measure a buildings environmental performance.

“Mandatory levels of performance have now been set by government with regard to a building’s environmental profile. Therefore, products without the appropriate BES 6001 and BS EN ISO 14001 certification will be excluded from use due to the fact that they do not contribute towards achieving this requirement.”

The standards cover areas including energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, use of resources, waste management, water extraction, lifecycle assessment, transport impact, employment and skills and local communities.