Yellow Mountain StoneWorks

Before Quarrying	Earth Cleared for New Quarrying
During Quarrying	Earth Moved In for New Planting
Three Years Later

At Yellow Mountain StoneWorks, we are committed to sustainable development, both in the management of our product offerings and in the way we do business every day.

Sustainable building is more than simply picking “green” products from a list. It means looking at the impact a building material has over its lifecycle, and evaluating the practices and policies of the business that sells it. Consider this:

• Is it a natural or manufactured product? Our medium is natural stone. Natural materials are generally lower in embodied energy and toxicity than man-made materials. They require less processing and are less damaging to the environment.
• Is the material long-lasting? Stone is the medium of The Great Wall,The Coliseum, Stonehenge, Notre Dame, and cultural icons that are being built today. For good reason: Stone ages with grace rather than deteriorating.
• How are other environmental consequences mitigated? Our business model—long-standing relationships with small suppliers—helps us operate with low impact on the environment. For example, our limestones and sandstones are removed in relatively small amounts from farmland that is quickly returned to agriculture. Other environmental issues require industry-wide cooperation. We support the Globe Stone Initiative and the Seattle branch of the Cascadia Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.
• Can it be recycled or re-used? Natural stone may outlast the building itself and can be recycled or reused at a new site. An exquisite example is granite road planks from the Qing & Ming dynasties that we are reclaiming before new construction plows them under. Durable materials like natural stone require less maintenance and produce less landfill waste over a building’s lifetime.
• How sustainable are the business practices behind the product? We run our business with low impact to the environment. We don’t operate a big showroom. We specify that our suppliers use recyclable packaging materials where possible. We lead by example: Our goal for 2007 is 100% recycling or re-use of consumables in our domestic operations.
• How close is your vendor to the source? Policies are fine, but they become empty promises if the company promoting them cannot reach the source. At Yellow Mountain StoneWorks, our first tier of associations ARE the source. We are new. We are small. But we are committed, and we are in a position to educate, influence and offer assistance at the source, the quarry and the fabricator.

External links: Green Naturally