Displaying items by tag: LafargeHolcim

Canada: Lafarge Canada has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with carbon utilisation company, Carbon Upcycling Technologies. The agreement allows for the potential integration of Carbon Upcycling’s CO₂-embedded concrete additive into Lafarge operations and will explore opportunities to expand Carbon Upcycling’s operating capacity by developing larger processing facilities.

Carbon Upcycling produces an additive that makes concrete both stronger and more sustainable with the ability to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by up to 25% on a lifecycle basis. Carbon Upcycling’s involvement into construction materials began in 2018 through its participation in the LafargeHolcim Accelerator program, which aimed to accelerate the growth of innovations in the building materials industry.

The deal aligns with Lafarge's Net-Zero 2030 pledge to accelerate green construction and combat the climate change crisis with low carbon concrete and circular economy solutions, and Carbon Upcycling goal to reduce overall CO₂ emissions by 600Mt by 2030.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos is preparing to bid for some of LafargeHolcim’s assets in Brazil. However, the company is limited by local competition rules so it is unable to try and buy all of LafargeHolcim’s assets, according the Valor Economico newspaper. In a statement to Reuters, Votorantim said that it had not made a bid yet but that it was always open to new opportunities. LafargeHolcim was reported by local press in April 2021 as wanting to sell its assets in the country.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines says it is focusing on sustainability and invocation to its customers. At a virtual conference held in mid-June 2021, the building materials producer said that it is using more alternative low-carbon fuels and developing new products that contain less clinker. It added that builders could improve their carbon footprint by ensuring that structures are made with the right materials to meet strength and durability requirements without being overdesigned and that hardware stores could play a role in guiding customers to the correct building materials for their projects. The company is also working on its digital platforms to make customer transactions smoother.

“With our commitment to sustainability and innovation, we will develop the next generation of building materials that will help the country build better for the future. We want to continue to strengthen our collaboration with our customers to raise consumer awareness that these products support their aspirations for a greener and healthier Philippines," said Horia Adrian, Holcim Philippines’ president and chief executive officer.

Cameroon: Luc Magloire, the Minister of Commerce, has written to Cimenteries du Cameroun (CIMENCAM) threatening to close its production facilities if it raises its prices without approval. In the letter the minister accused the subsidiary of LafargeHolcim of increasing its wholesale prices and of preparing to do so again without consent, according to the Ecofin Agency. Prices have reportedly risen by up to 8% in some places.

Friction occurred between the government and CIMENCAM in 2020 when LafargeHolcim renewed the term of Benoît Galichet as the chief executive officer of its local subsidiary. The government, a large minority shareholder of the company, opposed the decision. The government and the cement producer have also disagreed previously over the price of cement.

France: Extinction Rebellion activists forced operations to stop temporarily at LafargeHolcim’s Port de Javel ready-mixed concrete plant in Paris on 30 June 2021. Members of the climate activist group trespassed on the site to denounce what they called the company’s firm's environmentally damaging pursuit of profit, according to Reuters. The building materials producer was forced to divert its trucks to another site during the chaos. Earlier in the week protestors from Extinction Rebellion and the non-government organisation Soulevements de la Terre targeted another LafargeHolcim site near Paris.

In late 2020 the council of Paris voted to withdraw permissions for a planned expansion to LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge France’s Bercy concrete plant after protesters captured footage of a slurry spill that the company called ‘exceptional.’

LafargeHolcim currently has a target to reduce its CO₂ intensity in cement to 475kg net CO₂/t by 2030. The group says it hopes to become ‘net zero’ in the future. It is currently working with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to define a roadmap to 2050 to, “reduce scope one CO₂ emissions to a target consistent with a net zero pathway endorsed by SBTi.”

Ivory Coast: LafargeHolcim Ivory Coast has appointed Rachid Yousry as its chief executive officer. He succeeds Xavier Saint-Martin-Tillet, who has been in the post since November 2020, according to the Financial Afrik newspaper.

Yousry has worked for LafargeHolcim in a number of supply chain and sales roles since 2011. His last posting was as the Country Commercial & Supply Chain Director for LafargeHolcim Jordan. Prior to working for LafargeHolcim, he held roles at Teleinfo 5, Unilever, AMS Baeshen. Yousry holds a bachelors degree in information technology and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the École des Ponts Business School.

Georgia: Georgian Cement Company (GCC) has warned of cement dumping by Iran and Turkey. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim is lobbying the government for protective legislation, according to Prime News. GCC operates a 0.3Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Poti. The country consumes 2.5Mt/yr and 1.5Mt/yr of this comprises imports. HeidelbergCement and Eurocement also operate plants locally.

Germany: Two studies looking at how to prepare investments for the conversion to an oxyfuel process have been completed at Hocim’s Germany’s Lägerdorf cement plant. The projects were running with technology partners ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions and Linde. Project Oxyfuel100, part of the Westküste100 initiative, was finalised in mid-April 2021. In addition to the oxyfuel process, the technical and economic feasibility of the downstream CO₂ extraction, processing and forwarding was examined. The results of the feasibility study were reported as being “extremely positive.”

India: Ambuja Cements and ACC are planning to participate in parent company LafargeHolcim’s ‘Plants of Tomorrow’ programme. The initiative, which aims to make cement manufacturing more efficient through better plant optimisation, higher plant availability and a safer working environment, is part of LafargeHolcim’s ‘Building for Growth’ strategy, which was launched globally in mid-2019.

The four-year programme implemented by LafargeHolcim aims to create a global network of over 270 integrated cement plants and grinding stations in more than 50 countries by applying automation technologies and robotics, machine learning, predictive maintenance and digital twin technologies to the entire production processes. The ‘Plants of Tomorrow’ initiative is also being implemented in other key markets in Switzerland, France, Germany, United Kingdom, US, Canada and Russia.

“As an industry leader we are looking at 'Plants of Tomorrow’ as a big opportunity and responsibility to place India on the map of global cement manufacturing. This path-breaking project will lead to transformative outcomes not just in terms of operational and financial gains but also make cement manufacturing in the country environmentally sustainable and create a safe work environment for our colleagues across all our plants,” said Neeraj Akhoury, the chief executive officer (CEO) of India Holcim and managing director and CEO of Ambuja Cements.

Switzerland: Holcim has launched its Transport Analytics Center (TAC) software platform across its logistics fleets in 50 countries. The centre optimises route mapping, increasing deliveries’ predictability and safety, according to the company. This enables transport emissions tracking, including those of its third-party suppliers. Holcim says that the platform will cover 1.4bn kilometres of journeys by over 60,000 trucks annually. The producer hopes to use the software to reduce its Scope 3 emissions related to transportation and fuels by 20% in 2030 compared to the 2020 baseline of 29Mt of CO₂.

Chief information officer Jochen Werling said, “TAC is a great example of how we are becoming a data-driven organisation. With our extensive industry expertise and advanced technologies we are developing cutting-edge digital solutions that are tailored to our specific business needs. TAC is a breakthrough for us as well as for our broader industry.”