Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

Spain: HeidelbergCement subsidiary FYM has partnered with the University of Malaga (UMA) to create a chair on climate change at the institution. The position aims “to create and promote the study, research and development of new solutions to the climate emergency and its consequences for nature and daily life.” The company said that this consists in: “deepening the knowledge of the causes and consequences of climate change in Malaga Province, investigating the possibilities of its mitigation, especially through circular economic processes, encouraging research, development and innovation within the different lines of action in the fight against climate change, setting and substantiating industry targets and promoting understanding of the effects of climate change and the different forms of mitigation and adaptation.”

Mexico: Cemex has signed an agreement with Canada-based Carbon Upcycling Technologies to “improve the processing of residue or by-products of industrial processes to produce nanomaterials.” Carbon Upcycling Technologies’ equipment increases the cementitious properties of residues such as fly ash and steel slag by physical processing them into nanomaterials and adding captured CO₂, enabling the partnership to produce concrete additives with “greater reactivity and a lower carbon footprint” than their raw materials.

Cemex Ventures Head Gonzalo Galindo said, "This agreement with Carbon Upcycling Technologies is yet another example of our determination to deliver net-zero CO₂ concrete products globally by 2050. Our roadmap to achieve this global ambition involves continuing to innovate our technology internally while continuing to seek complementary innovation outside of Cemex through investments in start-ups, consortia, and high-value collaboration agreements such as the one reached with Carbon Upcycling Technologies."

Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas has renewed its Alcalá de Guadaíra integrated cement plant’s registration to the European Environmental Management System (EMAS). The company says that EMAS registration “encourages transparency in plant management and provides information verified and validated by an external body” to help it to comply with controls and self-controls in its Integrated Environment Authorisation (IEA).

Environment manager Pedro Lanagrán said, “The company maintains a very demanding environmental policy and is committed to innovation to achieve continuous improvement, relying on the application of the best available technologies.” He added, “We understand social responsibility as a transversal concept and are convinced that it is essential to reconcile economic and social progress with the protection of people and nature."

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has announced the launch of EcoLabel, a brand to encapsulate its green cements and concretes. All products bearing the label must have either a 30% lower carbon dioxide (CO₂) footprint compared to the local industry standard or use 20% recycled content. The company says that the reason behind EcoLabel is to “support builders in making greener choices” and to “accelerate the company’s Net Zero Journey.”

Chief sustainability officer Magali Anderson said, “I am very proud of how our company is turning our net zero pledge into action across more than 70 countries, with our broad range of green building solutions. The EcoLabel is a key milestone on this journey, confirming LafargeHolcim’s commitment to lead the way in sustainability and innovation.”

Argentina: The Instituto del Cemento Portland Argentino (ICPA) has announced that a series of ten talks, entitled Vision 2030 – a Decade of Action, will take place in late October 2020. It says that the presentations, “will provide a space for reflection on 10 key topics on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda.” 

The event is also a celebration of ICPA’s 80th anniversary.

There’s no single theme this week, just a few news stories of note that may have wider significance.

Firstly comes the news that Semen Indonesia subsidiary Semen Padang has been exporting 25,000t of cement to Australia. This follows a consignment of 35,000t of clinker to Bangladesh. The company is hoping to hit a cement and clinker export target of 1.58Mt in 2020 in spite of the on-going coronavirus pandemic. It reached 1.09Mt (about 70%) of this by mid-September 2020 through exports to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Philippines, Australia, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The wider picture here is that local sales in Indonesia fell by 7.7% year-on-year to 27.2Mt in the first half of 2020 from 29.4Mt in the same period in 2019, according to data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). Cement and clinker exports are up by 32.8% to 3.7Mt from 2.8Mt. Semen Indonesia’s revenue is down but it has managed to hold its earnings up so far. During press rounds in late August 2020 its marketing and supply chain director, Adi Munandir, told local press that he expected domestic demand to fall by up to 15% in 2020 due to effects of coronavirus on private construction and government infrastructure plans. Analysts reckon that the worst of the demand slump hit in the second quarter of 2020 when government-related coronavirus restrictions were implemented, so Semen Indonesia’s third quarter results will closely scrutinised.

One of Semen Padang export targets is the Maldives. This chimes with another story this week because Oman-based Raysut Cement has just bought a majority stake in a cement terminal from Lafarge Maldives for US$8m. The 9000t capacity Thilafusi cement terminal is located on the island of Thilafusi, Kaafu and was expanded in 2015. Raysut Cement has tended to stick to markets in the southern Arabian Peninsula and the east coast of Africa, with projects planned in Madagascar and Somaliland. Yet expansion plans in places further away such as India and Georgia have also been mentioned publicly. A greater presence in the Maldives is a solid step towards Raysut heading eastwards. This would also mirror the plans of the country’s gypsum sector to dominate African and Asian markets and a general longer term shift in global markets from west to east.

One place west that has been doing well in cement though is Brazil. National Cement Industry Union (SNIC) data for September 2020 show a 21% year-on-year boom in cement sales to 5.8Mt and a 9.4% year-on-year increase to 44.6Mt for the first nine months of 2020. Earlier in the year the country’s limited coronavirus suppression methods were attributed for letting the recovering cement sector grow. Now, SNIC has directly thanked government support for civil construction. However, Paulo Camillo Penna, the president of SNIC said. “The results are surprising so far, but that doesn't give us security in the long run,” due to a bubble of real estate and commercial activity that already appears to be declining. Given the slump in cement demand from 2015 to 2018 it’s understandable that SNIC is taking the recovery cautiously.

And to finish we have two connected stories about Cemex. Following the release of its resilience strategy in September 2020, the company has now declared that its integrated Rüdersdorf cement plant in Germany will be the centrepiece of its CO2 reduction plans as part of ‘Vision Rüdersdorf.’ Details are light at present but we expect some kind of carbon capture and storage or usage project. An addendum to this – or perhaps it’s the other way round (!) – is that Cemex has also just announced further credit amendments but with sustainability-linked metrics. Cemex’s chief financial officer (CFO) Maher Al-Haffar said, “We are especially proud that this transaction represents one of the largest sustainability-linked loans in the world.” The teeth of this arrangement remain to be seen but the integration of finance and sustainability has serious implications generally.

Watch out for a research and development themed interview with Cemex and Synhelion in the December 2020 issue of Global Cement Magazine

Mexico: Cemex says that it has agreed upon an amendment to its facilities agreement to extend US$1.1bn of term loan maturities to 2025 from 2022, and US$1.1bn of commitments under the revolving credit facility to 2023 from 2022. It says that the sustainability criteria incorporated into the interest rates of the facilities agreement, now worth US$3.2bn, make it ‘one of the largest sustainability-linked loans in the world.’ The company adds that it will prepay US$530m to institutions participating in the extension, corresponding to the July 2021 amortisation under the facilities agreement, and extending its debt maturity profile through to July 2023.

The group has also decided to redenominate its debt away from the US dollar. US$313m of exposure under the term loans that are part of the facilities agreement will convert to Mexican Pesos and US$82m will convert to Euros.

Germany: Cemex Zement has announced the start of carbon-neutral building materials development at its 1.9Mt/yr Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg cement plant. Called Vision Rüdersdorf, the project consists of, “the comprehensive investigation of various approaches to breakthrough technologies in order to prevent process-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) from entering the atmosphere, but to use it for beneficial purposes. The investigation areas can be divided into capture, storage or use of CO₂. This will help towards Cemex’s target of 55% CO₂ emissions reduction across Europe by 2030 and its commitment to deliver carbon-neutral concrete by 2050.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Rüdiger Kuhn said, “For years, sustainable success has been achieved here in the reduction of fossil fuels and in the selection of alternative recipe ingredients for cement. The experienced team is always looking for possible improvements. When it came to determining the best possible CO₂ emission values, the Rüdersdorf plant was always at the forefront of the European cement industry and has thus also earned an excellent reputation in the global Cemex organisation.”

In order to realise Vision Rüdersdorf, the producer has partnered with companies from other industries. Managing director and plant manager Stefan Schmorleiz said, “In an interesting approach, the CO₂ that we capture is used as a raw material for downstream processes in the chemical industry. Another approach is to innovate in the storage of CO₂. With these efforts, and our commitment to review and invest in these technologies, Cemex Zement is making a contribution to the decarbonisation of the cement industry.”

US: The Wildlife Habitat Council has named Cemex USA the winner of the Corporate Conservation Leadership Award 2020. The award signifies “an exemplary corporate commitment to biodiversity and conservation education, and meaningful alignments with global conservation objectives.”

Director of Sustainability Vicente Saiso said, “We are privileged to receive the Corporate Conservation Leadership Award from the Wildlife Habitat Council. This recognition is testimony to our successful efforts and fosters our commitment to continue embedding sustainability in every aspect of our operations. To date, we have achieved certification for 30 programmes and community environmental initiatives in our operations around the world, with the highest standards of environmental conservation and biodiversity restoration.”

Projects include collaborations in the US and further afield with the California State Wildlife Action Plan, the Friends of Verde River Cooperative Invasive Plant Management Plan, BirdLife International, the El Carmen Nature Reserve Action Programme and a black bear research initiative, as well as the Mexican Strategy for Chihuahuan Grasslands Conservation, the Dominican Republic National Annual Plan and Panama's Alliance for a Million Hectares.

US: The Portland Cement Association has launched greenercement.com, an informative website site dedicated to Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) applications and benefits. The organisation says that PLC’s 10% reduced carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions when compared with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) make it the sustainable choice for innovative construction.

President and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Ireland said, “PLC is another example of the cement industry evolving over the years, continuing to innovate and sustainably producing the high-quality cement that is needed to help keep America’s infrastructure strong and resilient.” He added, “This initiative will help educate engineers and other specifiers on how PLC can easily be incorporated into numerous projects.”