Breedon to play key role in securing a sustainable future in the Peak District

Initiative aims to cut over 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year - reducing UK emissions from cement and lime manufacture by 40%

Breedon Group plc (Breedon or the Group), a leading vertically-integrated construction materials group in Great Britain and Ireland, is delighted to announce its involvement in the Peak Cluster project (the "project"), a world-first initiative with key partners working together to create a net zero future for the cement and lime industries in the Peak District.

Breedon's Hope Cement Works, employs over 200 people and is a significant contributor to the region's carbon dioxide emissions and will play an integral role in this project as it supports the region's ambitions to decarbonise.

Together with the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant in Cheshire and four other cement and lime plants in the Peak District and Staffordshire Moorlands, including sites owned by Tarmac, Lhoist and Aggregate Industries, the project will remove over three million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year by 2030, a move that will reduce total emissions from the industry by 40% in the UK.

Peak Cluster, which is led by Progressive Energy, will see carbon dioxide emissions captured and transported from industrial plants in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire before permanently storing the carbon dioxide beneath the Eastern Irish Sea. The project has access to a number of storage options, including Liverpool Bay CCS, or the recently announced Morecambe Net Zero project.

Rob Wood, Chief Executive Officer at Breedon Group, commented:

"Our purpose is to make a material difference to the lives of our colleagues and customers and communities, and our products play an essential part in creating a sustainable built environment for everyone and we are thrilled to play an integral role in Peak Cluster.

"Securing a sustainable future for the UK's cement industry will be vital if we are to achieve net zero as a country while also continuing to invest in our economy and deliver key infrastructure projects, new homes, schools and hospitals.

"The construction sector offers major opportunities to help the world build as sustainably as possible and Breedon is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions, however we must also look to support our local areas and the people that we employ.  Peak Cluster is a truly exciting example of where all of these aims come together."

Breedon Group plc

Breedon Group plc, a leading vertically-integrated construction materials group in Great Britain and Ireland, delivers essential products to the construction sector. Breedon holds 1bn tonnes of mineral reserves and resources with long reserve life, supplying value-added products and services, including specialty materials, surfacing and highway maintenance operations, to a broad range of customers through its extensive local network of quarries, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt plants.

The Group's two well-invested cement plants are actively engaged in a number of carbon reduction practices, which include utilising alternative raw materials and lower carbon fuels. Breedon's 3,700 colleagues embody our commitment to 'Make a Material Difference' as the Group continues to execute its strategy to create sustainable value for all stakeholders, delivering growth through organic improvement and acquisition in the heavyside construction materials market.