menu

Environmental & Sustainability

All RTA members are committed to follow industry best practice on Health & Safety, Quality and Environmental management.

Building specification

Both clay and concrete roof tiles can achieve an A+ rating within the BRE Green Guide to Specification*. A+ represents the lowest environmental impact and is the highest rating possible, earning the maximum number of credits in the BREEAM environmental rating scheme for buildings.

Durability

Clay and concrete tiles provide excellent life cycle performance with a lifespan in excess of 60 years, during which, they require very low levels of maintenance. RTA members’ roof tiles also undergo extensive testing, to ensure their resilience against British winters and the changing global climate. RTA members’ clay and concrete roof tiles comply with, and often greatly exceed, minimum performance criteria as stated by the Construction Products Regulation. These performance criteria include:

    • Mechanical resistance properties / flexural strength
    • Impermeability
    • Durability to freeze-thaw
    • External fire performance
    • Reaction to fire
    • Dimensions and dimensional variation**

Social advantage

Pitched roofing is the dominant architectural style in the UK providing buildings with more space, a longer life expectancy, better performance and the choice to fix a wide range of colours and finishes using clay or concrete roof tiles.  Should extra space be required the pitched roof provides a ready-made solution for extra storage and has the potential to be converted into an additional room.

The long established UK roof tile industry supports local communities through the provision of employment, the preservation of skills and continuous investment in training, facilities and factories.

Biodiversity

RTA members use their quarries to promote biodiversity in the surrounding area. After removing material some quarries are converted to nature reserves, creating valuable wildlife habitat in addition to amenity areas for the local community to enjoy. In other cases the quarry land will be released for future developments, effectively recycling the land for the long term benefit of society. Throughout the supply chain, RTA members abide by the principles of responsible sourcing by carefully selecting suppliers and implementing systems to effectively manage environmental and social impacts wherever possible.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

All RTA members are committed to delivering products of exceptional performance quality and continually strive to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. Large scale roof tile manufacturers participate in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and keep pace with reducing carbon emissions targets. There is a thriving second hand market facilitating the reuse of clay roof tiles, however when roof tiles do eventually reach the end of their life, both clay and concrete tiles can be recycled as crushed aggregate in a wide range of applications. Please see the RTA members’ websites for further detail.

Economic benefit

By purchasing an RTA member’s roof tiles you are supporting British manufacturing and jobs throughout the UK supply chain. View RTA member case studies here

*based on generic rating for UK produced clay plain tiles Element Ref: 812410006; and the generic rating for UK produced concrete plain tiles Element Refs: 812410017, 812410050, and 812410064.

**As defined within EN1304:2005 for clay roof tiles and EN490:2011 for concrete roof tiles.