The Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) certification system promotes sustainable construction in Germany by assessing transparency in the cement and concrete industry’s manufacturing processes, as well as social and environmental aspects. At the beginning of 2023, the CSC supplier certificates for the four cement plants—Allmendingen, Bernburg, Karlstadt, and Mergelstetten—operated by SCHWENK Zement GmbH & Co. KG were due for recertification.

During their initial certification three years ago, the cement plants achieved Gold status. Despite stricter requirements, the four German cement plants once again attained Gold status during this year’s recertification. This is an advantage for customers who purchase cement from SCHWENK if they are also seeking CSC certification, as the results of upstream suppliers are factored into the certification process. As a result, SCHWENK cement customers can also achieve the CSC Gold certification level.

Several of our concrete companies immediately took advantage of this opportunity. After achieving the Silver level last year, 5 ready-mix concrete plants operated by SCHWENK Beton Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH, 9 ready-mix concrete plants operated by SCHWENK Beton Stuttgart GmbH & Co. KG, and 4 ready-mix concrete plants operated by SCHWENK Beton Südbayern GmbH have now attained the CSC Gold level. In addition to certification under the standard CSC module, the four plants of SCHWENK Beton Südbayern GmbH also achieved the Gold level in the CO₂ module, Level 3. This makes them the first plants within the SCHWENK Baustoffgruppe to be awarded a CO₂ quality seal.

CSC certifications are increasingly being required in requests for proposals as a prerequisite for submitting bids. As a result, the plants are well-equipped to meet the growing demands for sustainability.