Thin Stone Veneer’s Carbon Footprint Depends on the Source

Every construction material has its own unique carbon footprint. If you’re considering thin stone veneer for your next project, you may be wondering, “What are the environmental impacts of stone construction?” That largely depends on the stone’s sourcing and transportation.

There are two main types of stone veneer products: natural stone and manufactured stone. Each have distinct differences in composition and finishing processes. Natural stone is extracted through mining, while manufactured stone has to be artificially produced. These processes both have an impact on the environment.

 

Where Does Natural Stone Veneer Come From?

Natural stone veneer is made by quarrying raw stone such as granite, limestone or marble. Large stone slabs are extracted from a quarry, then sawed, split and finished to create the final product.

This process requires no synthetic additives or chemical manufacturing. Compared to manufactured stone, it requires a lower energy output, but still has an impact on the environment through land disturbance.

 

Where Does Manufactured Stone Veneer Come From?

Manufactured stone, also known as man-made or artificial stone, is created with a mixture of cement, aggregates and pigments. The exact formula varies from producer to producer, making it hard to know exactly what goes into the mixture and manufacturing process.

Since manufactured stone has to be artificially produced, it involves an energy-intensive manufacturing process — including the mining of aggregates and sands to create the cement mixture, and the forming and coloring of the finished product. However, once manufactured stone is ready to ship, its low weight — relative to natural stone veneer — can potentially cut down on transportation emissions.

 

Does Choosing “Thin” Make A Difference?

Thin stone veneer can be used to mimic the look of traditional full-thickness building stone. This not only saves costs — as thin stone veneer projects require less material and structural considerations than projects using full-thickness building stone — but can also reduce weight during transportation. This decreases the fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

However, since thin stone veneer requires more cutting and fabrication, it involves more energy-using steps during the finishing process.

 

Quarrying Practices and Their Environmental Impact

When natural stone is mined, the ecology of the site changes — as large pits are cut into the earth. However, these pits are actually quite clean, and can be reclaimed or reused once operations have ceased. Because quarried sites are perfectly inhabitable, they can be made into nature preserves, parks, or even temperature-regulated storage sites for underground quarries.

During mining operations, dust pollution is a serious concern. Dust pollution can cause health issues like silicosis if not properly managed. This problem can be minimalized with the proper dust control measures — such as watering, filtration and the use of proper equipment and training.

Since water is a key component of dust suppression, mining does consume a significant amount of water. In addition to controlling dust, water is also used for the cooling and cleaning of equipment. It’s important that this water is used responsibly, and is safe to be released into the environment. Responsible companies can accomplish this, sometimes even recycling up to 95% of the water used in their facilities.

Quarries in North America are highly regulated, making sure that mining practices have the smallest possible environmental impact. While these strict regulations help to control the impact of mining, they will never completely mitigate it. However, these standards do ensure that stone from North America is often more responsibly quarried than stone purchased overseas.

 

Weight and Shipping Distance

Though heavier than manufactured stone, thin stone veneer still offers a significant weight advantage over full-thickness stone. This cuts down on the energy needed for transportation.

The environmental impact of transportation varies based on the distance between the quarry, the processing facility and the project location. Locally sourced stone tends to cut down on transportation emissions, as it generally requires shorter shipping distances.

Some companies may import stone from other continents, such as China, to reduce prices. This may lower pricing, but will increase the resources needed for transportation. Stone from another continent requires transportation on cargo ships in addition to semi-trucks, increasing reliance on fossil fuels.

In addition to transportation concerns, imported stone may not be ethically sourced — as some countries don’t adhere to ethical mining practices.

 

The Environmental Impacts of Stone Construction

Sustainability of Stone as a Building Material

Unlike wood or composite siding, stone will last for many decades — if not centuries. This longevity reduces demand for replacement materials.

Once a stone product is replaced, the material can be recycled into other products. Most other building materials find their way into the landfill once they’re replaced, or go through a far more extensive recycling process.

Natural stone is also great for energy efficient designs. Stone has high thermal mass, meaning it’s great for regulating indoor air temperatures by absorbing, storing and releasing heat. It’s also decently insulative, which adds to temperature regulation properties.

 

How to Reduce Your Thin Stone Veneer Carbon Footprint

If you’re interested in reducing your carbon footprint by choosing sustainable building materials, you may want to:

Use natural stone instead of manufactured stone:

• Natural stone is extremely abundant. While technically not a renewable resource, the earth is made of rock, making it nearly impossible to deplete.
• Stone can be reused or recycled into other products.
• Responsibly sourced stone has a lower environmental impact than manufactured stone, which has an energy-intensive creation process.
• Kafka’s options: https://www.kafkagranite.com/natural-cut-stone/thin-stone-veneer/

Look for locally and responsibly sourced stone:

• Sourcing stone locally typically reduces the amount of resources needed for transportation.
• North American quarries follow strict environmental regulations, so you’ll know locally sourced stone is ethically mined.

Check for sustainability certifications:

• It’s also possible to look for certifications indicating responsible quarrying practices, such as:
  • SO 9001:2015 – Quality Management System
  • ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental Management System
  • Sustainable Quarry Certification (SQCS)
  • The Quarry Industry’s Sustainable Business (QISB) Certification
  • Certified Clean, Renewable, and Energy-Efficient Manufacturing (LEED)
  • Marble Institute of America (MIA)

 

Partner With an Ethical Stone Supplier

When thin stone veneer is ethically mined and locally sourced, it serves as a more environmentally friendly building material than manufactured stone veneer — and even offers certain sustainability advantages over full-thickness building stone.

If you’re concerned about the environmental impact of stone veneer, it’s important to find an ethical stone supplier to partner with, such as Kafka Granite. All Kafka products — including Natural Thin Stone Veneer — are produced to be as eco-friendly as possible, so you’ll never have to question their sustainability.

Learn more about what Kafka Granite is doing to support sustainability.