Sustainability: Setting the Standard in Stone

“Globally, I think everybody is going to have to raise their game,” says Cold Spring’s Mattke. “We’re seeing it have a bigger impact all the time. We’re constantly being questioned about how we’re doing things and how we’re addressing environmental issues, and I anticipate others are being asked.”

Vierra agrees that everybody – even the local fabrication shop or tile installer – should be prepared to compete a little harder on the green playing field. That will mean being able to talk knowledgeably not just about stone’s merits, but also how its production and use stack up environmentally against other likely and viable alternatives.

“We’re all in a phase of having to learn how everything connects out a little broader than we used to,” she says. “Today, everybody has to absorb more information and understand the broader implications not just in the short term, but how they play out environmentally down the road.”