Submission - Ronez re Government Plan - 27 September 2019

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27th September 2019

Connetable M K Jackson

Chairman

Environment, Housing and lnfrastructure Scrutiny panel

BY EMAI L n. hall3@gov.je

Dear Connetable

Government Plan Review - CSps

Thank you for the opportunity to review the Government Plan and for the invitation to comment on CSP 5 relating to "Protect our Environment"  with specific attention to resources, accounta bi lity and sustainabi lity of projects.

Gontributions to climate fund from additionalfuel duty

I am supportive in principle of the need to resource inltiatives to reduce emissions and influence climate change. Establishing  a climate fund is a reasonable  objective. However, the

level of additional duty will not in itself influence vehicle use. lt is geneially accepted that to do so would require fuel costs to increase by a very substantial taitor and anything less will purely be borne by the user, driving inflation and hence wage demands, in an unrretftul circle.

As a.moderately intensive user of fuel, the additional cost  being would be 30-40,000 per year by 2022, which would inevitably to Ronez, be passed all else on in the cost equal,of

goods and services.

The Government Plan appears to present no firm ideas as to how  but for it to be an accumulating fund for purposes yet to be determined. the Should fund will this be fund utilised, not be

used initially in a more targeted way to support real, demonstrable actions that would give the concept greater credibility amongst those (i.e. the public and businesses) contributin!?

Sustainable Similarly Use to of be .public as on for the transport Transport, fuel infrastructure duty, Planor I am and other not better modes convinced alternative cycle of transport, that transport, parking pricing -and ii specificaily driven will influence by convenience, cycling. ii use of The public so transport.the focus has  for  extension of

experience cycle paths in is constructing good quality cycle paths  and the security extension ne6oeo. of the construction Ronez haveof

welcomed,

such a network will bring economies in construction costs.

Ronez Limited [a Route du Nord StJohn

Jersey JE3 4AR Channel lslands

r: +M(0)1534867200

E: salesgronez.com www.tonez,com

Registered  in Jerey No: 4l ASigmaRoc Plccompany

Embrace environmental innovation and ambition

As a producer of construction products, Ronez is able to develop and produce locally, certain products with a lower environmental impact, but such products have not been encouraged by clients (including GHE) in the way that similar products have been adopted in the UK. The small Jersey market will, inevitably, mean that development costs are higher. Risks may also arise through moving away from established products and such risk would need to be accepted, and worked through, with clients.

Example 1. Lower temperature asphalt.

Conventional  asphalt requires the stone in the product to be heated to greater than 180oC. Specialist bitumen binders are available for products produced close to 100oC, offering a significant energy saving.

Example 2. Recycled asphalt planings in asphalt.

The potential for introducing recycled asphalt into new road surfacing is small, but we do still need to embrace individual changes that cause a small impact if we are to achieve ambitious, global targets.

These two examples are presented to demonstrate that there are opportunities where Ronez can support this policy element.

Protect the natural environment and longevity of natural resources.

Ronez embrace this objective. Ronez and our predecessors have been engaged extracting natural aggregates at the St John Quarry for 150 years and there are substantial resources still to be won.

This mineral resource makes a substantial contribution to the economy and I believe that it is in the interest of both the lsland and the Company to maximize the extraction of this resource over the longest possible time frame, but to do so whilst ensuring the minimum environmental impact from the operations at the quarry.

The draft lsland Plan consultation document states the vision of.. "balancing future economic, social, environmental and cultural needs... " At Ronez we see this is part of our "licence to operate"

and environmental protection is at the centre of our processes.

The alternative to local quarrying would have a severe economic and environmental cost. Whilst construction methods may change, and the reducing dependence on primary naturalaggregates will probably continue to decline, I believe that there will still be considerable demand for our products for decades to come. Recycling of aggregates cannot grow much more, as most of what is recyclable is already recycled, therefore importation is the only alternative.

Whether the aggregates are produced locally or in the UK (or elsewhere in Europe) the carbon emissions from production will be similar. However, the additional emissions associated with transport to Jersey would be significant, as would be the cost of creating infrastructure to handle such imports. We have calculated that the amount of fuel used importing the island's minerals from the UKwould be in excess of 1,000,000 litres peryear. To promote such imports would be irresponsible in the context of reacting to a global climate challenge.

The increased financial cost of importation  would be an unnecessary burden on the local construction economy, whilst the contribution to the economy made by our employees, many of

whom would no longer be required,  would be a further significant cost to Jersey.

Finally, the draft lsland Plan, Strategic lssues and Options consultation paper contains a fundamental error concerning  imported aggregates. At page 43, Provision of Minerals, it states that 60-70,000

tonnes of aggregates/sand are imported annually through St Helier Harbour. ln fact there are no bulk aggregates imported to Jersey and there is currently no facility to offload such cargos. All the island's requirements are met from the quarries and from recycling.

The Shoreline Management Plan

Ronez are supportive of the need for the Plan and look forward to working with the Government in the construction of the infrastructure that will be required in future years.

lnvest in lnfrastructure

We welcome the commitment to the island's infrastructure.  The medium term investment plan appears to be a suitable and sustainable level. Our main concern is that the road network has been deteriorating at a faster rate than improvements have been made in recent years.

Budgets for road improvement fell in the latter part of the previous decade, and most improvement schemes have predominantly been to replace only the upper 50mm of the road surface. ln many cases this did not adequately strengthen the lower layers of road construction and many of these re-surfaced roads are now failing.

We have been encouraged during 2019 by the fact that GHE have been specifying full reconstruction in some resurfacing projects. We have also been able to complete these works more efficiently

because the roads have been closed for longer periods each day, thereby allowing longer working hours and shorter contract programmes.

These full reconstruction projects will be more expensive per square metre of road surface, but the longevity of the new roads, and the efficiency improvement  during laying will, I believe, give an

improved whole life cost and I urge the Government to ensure funding is available to continue this trend.

General comments on sustainability

Notwithstanding our commitment to embrace new technology and to develop products that contribute to the broad sustainability agenda, there is no doubt that conventional construction methods will endure for many years to come, with large volumes of concrete still being required.

Concrete is a building product that is maligned in some circles because the manufacturing of cement requires large amounts of energy. However, there are three significant facts to consider that mitigate this perception;

Firstly, there has been significant growth in the use of alternative fuels in cement manufacture, such as biomass and other waste, to replace fossil fuels. ln many European countries  this substitution exceeds 50% of energy requirement.

Secondly, less cement is used in production of concrete. ln Jersey 45o/o of the cement in concrete is now substituted by ground granulated  blast furnace slag, which is a waste product from the steel

industry.

Thirdly, the long life of concrete, together with its inherent suitability for being recycled, dilutes the whole life "carbon cost" of a building or structure.

Objectives  for 21-23 and accountability for their delivery

The 20-23 objectives and the proposed measures of impact lack substance. Phrases such as "providing policy, "measurable progress", "explore indicators" and "carry out research" are prevalent.

With a firm proposal to establish an accumulating fund for the "Climate Emergency" from public money, the Government must ensure that there is clear accountability for the effective use of that money.

ln conclusion we welcome the Government Plan's commitment to improve infrastructure with a balanced view on sustainability. We look forward to supporting  the delivery of the Plan's objectives and projects.

Yours sincerely

Mike Osborne Managing Director Ronez Limited