Oberlin, Ohio— Continental Cut Stone in Florence, Texas, has earned certification to the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard (NSC/ANSI 373). The company has achieved Gold status for its quarry, which extracts cordova cream and cordova shell limestone and Silver status for its fabrication facility, which processes limestone from raw blocks of stone into usable building materials.
“It has been a goal of mine to get our companies certified for a number of years,” said Rob Teel, president of Continental Cut Stone. “I have been involved with the Natural Stone Council since its inception and believe that stone has a great story to tell. We are proud of our staff, especially Kristin Cannon, for working through the process with the help of Tom Cleveland. Our hope is that others will continue to follow suit and get certified.”
The Natural Stone Sustainability Standard was first published in 2014 by the Natural Stone Council. Ownership of the standard transferred to the Natural Stone Institute in early 2021, marking a significant opportunity to raise awareness about the standard within the design community and helping to position natural stone as a solution for green building goals.
Quarriers and natural stone fabricators can look to this multi-attribute industry standard to identify ways to improve sustainability efforts in their operations. Through NSF’s third-party verification, companies can certify their compliance to the standard’s metrics, which include human health and safety, corporate governance and environmental responsibility. By defining best practices for land reclamation, adaptive reuse and management of excess materials and waste, the standard ensures that natural stone companies are being good stewards of the land.
To learn more about the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard and source certified natural stone, visit www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/sustainability.