The Local Advantage: Reducing Carbon Footprint with Domestic Aggregates

Path of Stone Series

Before a terrazzo floor is finished, those aggregates have already traveled distances, sometimes thousands of miles. For most terrazzo distributors, those aggregates are produced overseas. For TERRAZZCO, it begins within 300 miles of our location in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In our “Path of Stone” Series, we highlight why distance matters for the environment, for your projects, and for the future of American building materials.

You can find many colors domestically as you would imported. For terrazzo, most domestic aggregates can be closely matched to imported aggregates. Look out for aggregates that have the country of origin in its name like Canadian or Italian. A terrazzo supplier can discuss which of their aggregates are sourced within the United States.

Understanding Where Terrazzo Aggregates Come From

Ask terrazzo suppliers where their aggregates come from. Marble chips, which originate from quarries, are often sourced in the United States, but are commonly imported from Italy, Turkey, Greece, and India. Dominant marble-exporting nations provide unique colors and textures, which is why the terrazzo industry has leaned heavily on them.

Glass and shell chips are also abundant overseas and provide more options for terrazzo designs.

But there’s a cost hidden in international supply chains that designers should be aware of: the carbon cost of crossing an ocean. 

What Imported Sourcing Looks Like

In order for imported aggregates to make it onto a job site in the United States, they go through a long process. The aggregate travels by truck from the quarry region to a port. From there, the material is loaded onto a cargo container ship and crosses oceans spanning thousands of miles. Then it has to clear US customs, which is a process that carries its own complexities, including tariffs and fumigation requirements. Before it’s transported to the job site, it makes its way to a manufacturing facility for processing and packaging, then boards a truck once more to its final destination.

By the time the aggregate reaches the terrazzo contractor, imported aggregates can travel between 8,000 and 12,000 miles. The carbon emitted along the journey is significant.

Estimates based on 16 g CO₂/t-km (ocean freight) and 80 g CO₂/t-km (road freight). TERRAZZCO avg. quarry haul ~200 mi. Import port: Savannah, GA (~250 mi to Charlotte). Transportation phase only; values vary by vessel type, load factor, and routing.

Imported vs Domestic Aggregates: Distances Traveled

Transportation emissions are measured in grams of CO₂ per tonne-kilometer, calculated as the cargo weight multiplied by the distance. Here are stats for each transportation method:

• Plane Freight: Approx. 500 to 1000 grams
• Ocean Freight: Approx. 10 to 40 grams
• Truck Freight: Approx. 50 to 150 grams
• Rail Freight: Approx. 20 to 35 grams

Domestic = Short Lead Times, Shorter Supply Chains

TERRAZZCO aggregates are sourced regionally and crushed in-house at Concord Terrazzo Company’s production facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. By processing aggregates, Concord Terrazzo controls the full chain. Our production department can crush up to 30 tons of material daily, graded and packaged to your exact project specifications. By selecting from our range of domestic aggregates, lead times are shorter compared to weeks or months of transit, custom clearance, and coordination that overseas imports require.

For contractors, that means fewer surprises on the schedule. For architects, it ensures designs go as expected, and a supply chain you can document and trust.

LEED Points

For architects pursuing LEED certification, aggregates are a great way to factor points into projects. Locally sourced materials are not just an environmental preference but are a strategic specification tool.

Regionally sourced aggregates meet recycled content criteria and can earn 1-2 points under MR Credit 5 for regional materials sourced within 500 miles.

For projects in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, TERRAZZCO’s regional footprint can support LEED material credits. If you’re specifying for a LEED project, ask your TERRAZZCO representative about which aggregates qualify for regional sourcing documentation.

Value Behind Domestic Sourcing

Reducing carbon footprint is a key solution when sourcing domestic aggregates. Domestic sourcing delivers value across multiple levels of a project relationship.

• Tariff and customs exposure: Marble and granite imports are subject to duties ranging from 0-3.7% or tariffs as high as 25%. In a trade environment, those rates can change between when a project goes out to bid and when the material is ordered. TERRAZZCO aggregates carry no risk to price fluctations, thus can support contractors in winning projects with low bids.
• Supply chain unpredictability: Domestic materials provide a consistent lead time that keeps projects on track. With imported materials, disruptions may occur, increasing project delays and errors. Domestic materials are more reliable than imported goods.
• Price Stability: With in-house crushing and regional sourcing, TERRAZZCO offers aggregates at competitive pricing in the terrazzo industry, without added costs applied with imported materials.

TERRAZZCO: Reliable Source for Domestic Terrazzo Aggregates

Concord Terrazzo Company supplies a wide range of marble, glass, and specialty aggregates regionally, crushes and grades them in-house, and delivers them to projects across the country on schedule.

• 300-mile sourcing radius for TERRAZZCO exclusive aggregates
• 30 tons per day crushing capacity
• Over 50+ aggregate colors in multiple size grades
• Post-consumer and post-industrial recycled options available
• No import duties. No custom risks. No tariffs.

When you explore aggregates, ask yourself: where do they come from, and how does it impact my project? By selecting domestic TERRAZZCO aggregates, you can impact cost, lead times, and carbon emissions.

Path of the Stone Series

Path of the Stone is TERRAZZCO’s editorial series exploring the origins, sourcing, and sustainability of the materials we process. Each installation follows the journey of stone from the Earth to the terrazzo floor.

Read more from the Path of the Stone Series:

• Where TERRAZZCO Stone Begins: A Look at Domestic Quarries