Ibstock plc wins Manufacturer of the Year award

Ibstock plc has been crowned winner of the Manufacturer of the Year award at the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards. The category recognises organisations that are pioneering green manufacturing, best practices and principles.

Now in their 12th year, the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards – co-ordinated by the leading green economy publication BusinessGreen – are the UK’s largest green business awards.

In a competitive category, Ibstock won over the judges with “their highly innovative approach to slashing emissions in the high carbon world of brick manufacturing, where the company has pioneered a raft of new approaches and provided a crucial template for others to follow.”

Well-known brands from a wide variety of sectors were shortlisted for the award including BAT, Meryl Medical and Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation.

In the last decade Ibstock has invested £115 million in manufacturing performance, implementing decarbonisation measures, production efficiencies, and transformational technologies that reduce the carbon intensity and environmental impact of its operations. Its achievements include:

• 17% reduction in CO2 per tonne of production
• 8% reduction in mains water
• 13.6% of sales turnover from new and sustainable products
• 200 tonnes of plastic packing removed

Ibstock’s recently launched its Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) strategy to 2030, defining a new era of responsible business and manufacturing, serving as an important accelerator in speeding up the pace of change. Organised under three themes; Address Climate Change; Improve lives; and Manufacture Materials for life, headline ambitions include:

• 40% reduction in absolute carbon by 2030
• 20% of sales turnover revenue to come from new products and solutions that deliver customer value and improved sustainability
• Increase female senior leadership representation to 40% as part of a proactive approach to diversity and inclusion

Joe Hudson, Ibstock plc’s chief executive officer, said: “As an organisation that is committed to sustainable methods of manufacturing, we are delighted to be recognised as 2022 Manufacturer of the Year at these prestigious awards. Our employees have played a fundamental role in our sustainable success. Engaging and involving our people helps create a better understanding of our goals and ambitions as we work to create a more sustainable future. We are very proud of our progress to date, yet we know that we still have much more to do. Our new ESG strategy to 2030 will take our business on the next stage in its evolution to deliver on the future challenges and opportunities of decarbonisation.”