Displaying items by tag: Environment

India: Several cement producers in Jammu and Kashmir are operating quarries and plants in the vicinity of Dachigam National Park without the mandatory no-objection certification (NOC) from the union territory’s Forest Department. The Deccan Herald newspaper named JK Cement, TCI Cement, Khyber Industries and Green Land Cement as companies that have as yet failed to apply for NOCs for plants in the area. The newspaper alleged political interference in favour of cement producers, publishing state government internal correspondence that gave the distances of Khyber Industries, TCI Cements, Saifco Cements, Dawar Cement, HK Cement and Cemtac Cements plants from the national park as 2.5km, 6.0 km, 3.0km, 6.0 km, 5.0km and 6.0km respectively. According to the source, the true distances are 2.2km, 3.4km, 2.3km, 3.6km, 4.0km and 4.9km and this is part of the state’s support for illegal cement production which constitutes a ‘politician-bureaucrat-cement mafia nexus’ which has enabled private companies to ‘flout norms with impunity.’

China: Huaxin Cement’s Guoditang quarry in Dongchuan district, Kunming has won the Chinese government’s ‘Green Mine of the Year 2019’ award after receiving total investments of US$0.9m for vegetation recovery. Huaxin integrates land reclamation and afforestation into its step-mining method at the quarry, using planting quilts, sprinklers and drip irrigation devices to recover 80,000m2 of vegetation so far. The company has estimated that the mine will continue to supply its limestone needs in the area until late 2033.

The National Civil Affairs Commission named Huaxin Cement a ‘National Model Unit for National Unity and Progress’ on 17 December 2019. It is the only building materials producer to have obtained the title.

Belgium: Cembureau, the European Cement Association, has called on the European Union’s (EU) Green Deal to incentivise investment in low-carbon technologies, provide long-term legal certainty and foster the industry’s global competitiveness. It said that the new proposal to tackle climate change showed ‘great promise’ and ‘ambitious vision’ but that this needed to be converted into action to support a successful industrial transformation.

The association is concerned about a new carbon border adjustment mechanism. In its view, “the replacement of the existing carbon leakage measures by an untested mechanism would create considerable uncertainty and risks.” Instead it called on the EU to look at a design that complements the existing carbon leakage measures and is fair for third country importers and EU producers.

Aspects of the European Green Deal that the association praised included the recognition that the cement industry is ‘indispensible’ to the European economy. It also liked the European Commission’s (EC) emphasis on the circular economy that fits with work the sector is doing already from alternative fuels usage to recycling concrete.

"The European Green Deal is our new growth strategy – for a growth that gives back more than it takes away. It shows how to transform our way of living and working, of producing and consuming so that we live healthier and make our businesses innovative. We can all be involved in the transition and we can all benefit from the opportunities,” said EC president Ursula von der Leyen in relation to the new policy proposal.

The EC published its recommendations on how to help energy-intensive industries meet the EU’s 2050 climate target in late November 2019. Its key suggestions were to create markets for climate-neutral and circular products, develop large-scale pilot projects on clean technologies and switch to alternative climate-neutral energy and feedstock sources. It added that the pilot projects should be supported by EU funds and given easier access to private financing. These recommendations will be presented to the EU member states, the EU Competitiveness Council and the European Parliament in early 2020.

US: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge North America’s Presque Isle quarry, which supplies raw limestone to its 2.6Mt/yr Alpena integrated cement plant – both in Michigan – has won the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA)’s Gold Award in the Community Relations Excellence category. Business Wire has reported that it previously won Gold for Environmental Excellence in 2018. In recognition of its consecutive Golds, the NSSGA honoured the quarry with its prestigious Two Stars of Excellence award. LafargeHolcim’s operations in the country extend over 350 sites across 43 states. Its aim is to ‘help build better communities with innovative solutions that deliver structural integrity and eco-efficiency.’

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has revealed a Euro145m investment plan to reduce its CO2 emissions in Europe by 3Mt/yr, equivalent to 15% of its carbon footprint, by 2022. The investment will target advanced equipment and technology to increase the use of low-carbon fuels and materials.

Morocco: Morocco’s second largest cement plant in Safi, HeidelbergCement’s largest in the country, is to receive an adjacent algae pond. Environmental innovator Omega Green has estimated the pond’s rate of carbon dioxide removal at 80-100t/yr. The algae can be sold on to food, cosmetics, and animal feed producers.

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.

Bangladesh: Shahab Uddin, the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, says that five cement plants near the Sundarbans mangrove forest region have been granted environmental clearance certification. The plants are Meghna Cement Mills, Bashundhara Cement Mills, Mongla Cement Mills, Dubai-Bangla Cement Mills and Holcim (Bangladesh), according to the New Nation newspaper. Uddin said that the units were all at least 6km away from the Sundarbans reserved forest area and that the Department of Environment was monitoring their emissions on a regular basis. In 1995 the government declared a 10km area around the Sundarbans Reserve Forest as a ‘critical’ ecological zone.

Paraguay: Cartes Group has been fined US$79,500 for cutting down trees near San Lazaro, Concepción where it is planning to build a new cement plant. It will also have to pay US$1.8m towards gaining environmental certificates for the project, according to the ABC Color newspaper. Cartes Group purchased Calera Risso, the company planning to build the new unit, in late 2018.

Environmental studies at the site have also noted caves that should be protected including the Risso Cavern, where a fossil of a giant sloth was found in 2012. The Paraguayan Federation of Speleology has asked the the Ministry of Environmetnal and Sustainablity (MADES) to safeguard the site that also holds microfossils dating back 550m years.

The Cementos Concepción plant project was announced in early 2019. It intends to build a 1Mt/yr cement plant by 2021 with an investment of US$180m.

Lebanon: Residents of Ain Dara near Aley have protested at the Industry Ministry against the decision to grant a licence to the Al Arz Cement plant project. The protestors object on environmental grounds, according to the Daily Star newspaper. In a statement the ministry said that the plant would conform to environmental regulations. The project was launched in 2017 by entrepreneur Pierre Fattoush.