Displaying items by tag: Award

Cyprus: Vassiliko Cement ’s has achieved recognition for human resources (HR) programmes at its 2.5Mt/yr integrated Vassiliko plant in Nicosia, Cyprus, with a silver and a bronze at the first Cyprus Human Resources Awards. Its Talents Academy, launched in 2013 to offer six to 12 months’ paid work experience to a set minimum of unemployed young people with full staff benefits and without necessarily filling vacancies, won silver in the Best Youth Employment Initiative category. Its change of mindset programme ‘Bridge’ won bronze for Best Strategy/Initiative of Change Management for its promotion of intergenerational team spirit, communication and attainment of personal targets.

Vassiliko executive chairman Antonios Anoniou said “Continuous training coupled with the personal and professional development of our employees in the workplace is an essential prerequisite for sustainability."

USA: Cemex USA’s 0.9Mt/yr integrated Clinchfield cement plant has received a Sentinels of Safety Award from the National Mining Association, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, US Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement and Bureau of Land Management for safety and environmental stewardship at its associated quarry. PR Newswire has reported that the plant and quarry operated for a total of 200,000 hours in 2018 without any employee sustaining a lost-time injury (LTI). Cemex USA president Jaime Muguiro said “Our Clinchfield operations serve as a strong example of what we can accomplish with safety as a number one priority.”

US: Cemex USA’s Miami and Brooksville South cement plants in Florida have been awarded Energy Star certification for 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for work on energy efficiency and sustainability. The current year’s recognition marks nine consecutive years of Energy Star certification for the Miami plant and the Brooksville South plant has achieved the certification seven out of the last eight years.

“Cemex is committed to delivering world-class products and services to its clients across the US and the globe while maintaining the highest sustainability standards in our industry,” said Cemex USA president Jaime Muguiro.
To earn the recognition, operations at each plant followed energy-efficiency principles established by the EPA’s Energy Star guidelines and implemented energy conservation technologies along with energy-reduction projects. The recognised facilities were among the top 25% of similar US facilities for energy conservation and met the Energy Star Plant Energy Performance Indicators.

US: Staff members at Ash Grove Cement, GCC and Cemex have won awards at the Portland Cement Association’s (PCA) 2019 John P Gleason, Jr Leadership Awards. The awards recognise PCA members who have exhibited leadership in advancing industry programs and initiatives. The scheme is named after John ’Jay’ Gleason, who served as PCA president from 1986 until his retirement in 2007.

Curtis Lesslie, Vice President of Environmental Affairs at Ash Grove Cement, won the Business Continuity award. He has served on the PCA’s Environment and Energy Committee working on numerous environmental initiatives that benefit sustainability and continuity of cement manufacturing. He has promoted information sharing and benchmarking between companies and supported PCA's Occupational Health and Safety Committee as well as the PCA-MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) alliance

David Gray, Market Manager, GCC of America won the Market Development award. The PCA said that he had been a consistent example to industry professionals, customers, and industry associates on how promotion can be both a “fun and rewarding experience.” At the customer level he has raised awareness of the potential gains for cement and concrete in a broad range of construction markets and helped companies and associations create successful promotion initiatives.

Nathan Kimball, Vice President, Safety & Health, Lehigh Hanson won the Young Leaders award. He is an active member of PCA’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee. His work with Mine Safety and Health Administration leaders through information exchange and engagement has helped advance the shared interests of the industry.

US: The US Department of Energy (DOE) has recognised Better Plants partner CalPortland for achieving an energy intensity reduction goal of 28% since 2010. As part of DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative, the Better Plants Program works with leading manufacturers and water and wastewater treatment agencies to boost their competitiveness through improvements in energy efficiency. The cement producer was presented with an award for its efforts at the Better Plants conference in late September 2019.

CalPortland used DOE programs and software tools to help identify energy savings and accelerate investment in energy efficiency technologies and practices. Additionally, the company performed DOE in-plant training sessions driving innovation, cost savings, and the sharing of solutions company-wide to reach its target.

Guatemala: Cementos Progreso has received the National Award for Cleaner Production and the Sello Ambiental award in recognition of meeting environmental guidelines and having effective environmental management systems. The company has implemented preventative, proactive and inclusive systems across all of its operations and business units. This includes limestone and aggregate quarries, aggregate crushing, premixed concrete production, bag factories and the Estadio Cementos Progreso multi-sports stadium.

India: Ramco Cements’ Ramasamy Raja Nagar integrated plant has won the ‘Green Award 2018 for Industries of Tamil Nadu’ from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. It was bestowed in recognition of the contribution towards protection of environment made by the company. Special focus is acknowledged to best practices adopted to achieve best environmental quality in emissions, discharge of waste water, solid and hazardous waste management and green belt development.

Canada: Sean Monkman, Senior Vice President of Technology Development at CarbonCure Technologies, has been named as Canada’s inaugural Mission Innovation Champion at the fourth annual Mission Innovation Summit (MI4) and 10th annual Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM10) summit hosted by Canada in Vancouver, British Colombia in late May 2019.

Mission Innovation, a global initiative involving 22 countries and the European Commission, has identified carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) as one of eight Innovation Challenges that are key to achieving substantial emissions reductions. Mission Innovation Champions were selected from member countries to celebrate individuals with a track record of progressing creative new ideas that drive the pace and scale of the clean energy revolution.

US: Cemex USA has been awarded the 2019 Energy Star Partner of the Year by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for its efforts in energy management. It was presented with the award by the EPA and the US Department of Energy at a ceremony in Washington, DC.

“At Cemex, sustainability is key to our vision of building a better future, embedded in our core business strategy and day-to-day operations,” said Cemex USA President Ignacio Madridejos. “We strive to conserve energy where possible with energy management initiatives, and many of our operations have received repeated recognition for their efforts. Cemex is also incorporating the use of more alternative fuels.”

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has announced the winners of the 2019 Energy and Environment (E&E) Awards. The awards recognised environmental and community relations projects that were completed in 2018 and were presented at the 3rd Annual Cement and Concrete Fly-In.

The CalPortland Mojave cement plant in California won the Energy Efficiency award for the installation of a new classifier system for its vertical roller mill that increased energy efficiency by reducing fan power requirements. The plant also installed a control system for the finish mill that will maximise performance and help reduce wear on equipment. The classifier installation reduced the finish mill energy intensity by 1.5 to 2.0kWh/t, and the control system reduced energy intensity by 13%. In 2018 22% of the electricity consumed by the plant came from on-site renewable wind energy generation. CalPortland has implemented significant energy efficiency measures and its energy management program has been recognised by the Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star program as the Energy Star Partner of the Year for 15 years in a row.

Roanoke Cement Company and Titan America’s Troutville plant in Virginia won the Environmental Performance award for being the first cement manufacturing plant in the US to receive ISO 50001 certification for energy management of all aspects of energy procurement, design and use. The plant reduced its total electrical consumption by 10% and fossil fuels use by more than 12%. The plant has also implemented an alternative fuels program as part of its certification for the True Zero Waste Program, administered by Green Business Certification and has received silver status achieving a 96% rate of waste divergence from landfills.

Lehigh Hanson’s Permanente cement plant at Cupertino in California won the Innovation award for the installation of a water treatment system reducing concentrations of metals, including selenium, to meet permit limits. Lehigh Hanson developed a treatment system that combined ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (UF/RO) technology in conjunction with biological treatment technology to remove metals, including selenium and dissolved solids. This ensured applicable effluent limits were met while optimising treatment capacity and efficiency. This treatment system is the first of its kind in the cement industry ensuring that effluent limits are met while, at the same time, limiting the quantity of waste needed to be managed.

Buzzi Unicem USA’s Greencastle cement plant in Indiana won the Land Stewardship award for opening a 4km smooth packed stone trail in conjunction with the not-for-profit People Pathways organisation as Phase 2 of the Putnam Nature Trail. Buzzi Unicem USA staff and People Pathways used heavy equipment for rough clearing and grading of the overgrown former railroad bed and improved and expanded the physical trail. These areas were then landscaped with trees, native prairie vegetation plugs, interpretive signage, benches, birdhouses and other features. Additional nature trail enhancements include placement of wildlife monitoring cameras along the trail, installation of nesting boxes and interpretive signage, and maintenance of the recently completed restoration of native flora installed in 2017 and 2018.

Cemex’s Lyons cement plant in Colorado won the Outreach award for volunteering work by its staff at the Rocky Mountain National Park in Boulder, Colorado, performing campground improvement activities at Glacier Basin Campground by moving rocks and fallen timber and clearing existing fire pits of ash deposits. The plant then introduced a new community outreach initiative by hosting a Manufacturing Day event, providing local students tours of the quarry and plant to increase youth interest in pursuing a vocation in skilled trades. Additionally, the plant teamed up with the Celestial Seasonings B Strong Ride for cancer care and research for an event aimed at increasing safety awareness while fundraising for two local organizations and their efforts to fight cancer.