Slovenia: A local environmental non-government organisation (NGO), Eko Krog, which has been fighting Lafarge in the city of Trbovlje for years, has launched a challenge to the environmental permit issued to Lafarge in January 2014.

Eko Krog stated that that the basis for issuing the environmental permit for the operations of the cement factory was flawed and that the permit will result in new pollution in the Trbovlje valley. It has appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, which will now have to review the Environment Agency's (ARSO) decision to issue the permit.

ARSO said that the permit for unlimited cement production at the plant meets EU rules. However, Eko Krog has branded the decision was flawed, as key potential emissions were omitted, including those generated at the nearby quarry. Eko Krog also claimed that the documentation for the permit contains other flaws, including the failure to respect all of the recommendations of internationally-adopted standards for use of the best technology in the cement industry.

It is unclear how long the review of the permit by the relevant ministry will take, but Eko Krog has already once succeeded in having Lafarge stripped of the permit. Lafarge first received the permit in 2009, at which time it had invested Euro33m in upgrades, but its plans to use alternative fuels in its kiln subsequently prompted anger among locals and led to the successful challenge of the permit by Eko Krog in 2011. As a result, the plant had to scale down operations, making the January 2014 decision by the Environment Agency a major victory for Lafarge.

The plant responded to the decision by labelling it a first step in restarting cement production and obtaining a permit for the use of alternative fuels, which would be crucial for Lafarge's sustainability in Slovenia.