Herington, Kan.— U.S. Stone Industries, located here, has earned certification to the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard (ANSI/NSI 373). The company has achieved Silver status for its fabrication facility, which processes limestone from raw blocks of stone into usable building materials.
“Our experience throughout the certification process validated our core belief that sustainable initiatives are exceedingly beneficial to our environment, our industry, our customers and our operations,” said Ben Retter, president of U.S. Stone Industries. “We look forward to expanding the certification to multiple sites within our business.”
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.