Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

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.”

Malawi: Switzerland-based Holcim says that the world’s first 3D printed school has opened in Salima district’s Kalonga village after a build time of just 18 hours. The EcoPact green concrete producer says the building provides a much-needed thirteenth school in Yambe, which still needs three more. Holcim’s green construction subsidiary 14Trees estimates that its 3D printing technology can meet Malawi’s school building needs by 2031, compared to after 2090 by conventional methods. The group said that the school proves that “3D printing can play a key role in bridging our world’s education infrastructure gap” with high-quality, sustainable, affordable and fast-paced construction, at scale.

Europe, Middle East and Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said, “I am very proud of how our colleagues at 14Trees have deployed cutting-edge 3D printing technology to solve such an essential infrastructure need. Now that we’ve proven the concept in Malawi, we look forward to scaling up this technology across the broader region, with projects already in the pipeline in Kenya and Zimbabwe.”

US: The California Senate has voted in favour of a proposed bill which will require the State Air Resources Board to develop a plan for the state’s cement producers to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by the end of 2045. A 40% reduction compared to 2019 levels would also be mandated by the end of 2035. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC), an environmental advocacy group that is sponsoring the bill, has called for measures such as requiring public construction projects to use reduced-CO₂ cement and establishing purely performance-based specifications for legally defining cement to be adopted by the eventual strategy if the bill passes into state law. The proposed bill will next move to the California State Assembly as part of the local legislative process.

Poland: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge Polska has launched Aggneo, a recycled aggregate recycled from demolition-sourced concrete. The producer says that Aggneo offers high consistency and a lower density than mined aggregates, resulting in material savings. Besides reducing waste, the product also lowers the carbon footprint of delivery by 66%, according to the company. The building materials producer aims to manufacture 1Mt/yr of recycled aggregated by 2030.

Germany: Data from HeidelbergCement’s Sustainability Report 2020 reveals that it reduced its specific net CO₂ emissions by 2% year-on-year to 576kg/t of cementious material in 2020 from 589 kg/t in 2019. This represents a 23% reduction since 1990. The company has a target of 30% by 2025. It has a number of carbon capture and utilisation/storage (CCU/S) projects in various stages of development to meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Other data shows that its alternative fuels substitution rate rose to 25.7% from 24% and its clinker ratio fell slightly to 74.3%.

During the reporting year, the group joined the climate lobbying group Foundation 2° and achieving a CDP climate protection rating of A. For water security it secured the second-highest rating of A-. The group’s specific water consumption for cement rose by 5% in 2020 to 271.9l/t of cement from 260l/t in 2019. However the company says it is continuing to improve water consumption reporting at its sites until 2025.

Greece: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim subsidiary Heracles Group has established a Direction for Sustainable Development. The producer said that Charalampos Kouris will head the Direction, with the aim of building a more sustainable present for a better future. It will realise this by pursuing four pillars: climate, circular economy, nature and local communities. Regarding the first of these, it will follow the EU Green Deal climate neutrality roadmap.

Chief executive officer Dimitris Hanis said “We are pleased with the appointment of Mr Kouris as the first head of sustainable development and welcome him to the group's executive committee. The establishment of the new Direction will further reinforce our effort to ensure a healthy and safe workplace for our people while at the same time fighting our own battle against our climate change impact."

UK: SigmaRoc intends to offer a cement-free alternative for every product in its precast concrete portfolio from January 2022. The producer claims it is the only company to do this. The change will effect products made by its Product Group including Allen Concrete, CCP Building Products and Poundfield Precast. The move follows the launch of its Ordinary Portland Cement free Greenbloc product in February 2021.

Managing director Michael Roddy said, “Greenbloc sets the bar for bringing a cement-free alternative to a traditional building material into mainstream use, but it was only ever the start of our low-carbon journey.” He added “The benefits of using cement as a building material are undisputed from an application perspective, however the carbon required in the manufacturing process cannot be ignored. Our aim is simple. The market is changing and understands the need to acknowledge, address and action a tangible approach to decarbonisation. We want to give architects, contractors and specifiers the choice of using an ultra-low carbon cement-free alternative to precast cementitious products.”

EU: The Concrete Initiative (TCI) has announced its official partnership with European Green Deal-driven sustainable construction initiative New European Bauhaus (NEB). The partnership’s first undertaking will be to draft a concrete sector manifesto around the NEB objectives of beauty, sustainability and affordability.

The TCI said, “We look forward to working together with the construction value chain and citizens living in the built environment to rethink the way we live and connect people through beautiful, green, innovative and inclusive design.”

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has celebrated World Ocean Day 2021 by joining the World Ocean Council (WOC). The organisation brings together companies from different sectors to work towards sustainable ocean stewardship. Membership continues LafargeHolcim’s efforts towards the protection of coastal ecosystems, such as its deployment of bioactive concrete for habitat restoration. The company has collaborated on 30 sustainable port projects. It is also helping to tackle plastic pollution through its waste management subsidiary Geocycle.

Chief sustainability and innovation officer Magali Anderson said, “I am extremely proud to formalise our commitment to sustainable ocean stewardship by joining the World Ocean Council. Working with the Council’s members, we expect to scale up our actions to preserve our oceans.”

EU: The European Commission is reportedly planning to introduce its carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for cement imports from 2023. Reporting by Bloomberg has revealed that a ‘simplified’ system could be used in a transition period from 2023 with the full mechanism due to start in 2026. Under the new system, cement importers would have to buy certificates at a price linked to the European Union (EU) emissions trading system (ETS). Details on the CBAM and wider environmental plans are due to be made public in mid-July 2021. However, full legal acceptance of the scheme will require approval by the European Parliament and member states.

In a previous response to a report on the CBAM in February 2021, Koen Coppenholle, the head of the European Cement Association (Cembureau), said that a CBAM was a useful tool to address the imports of products not subject to similar carbon constraints in the European Union. He added, “The Environment Committee’s report highlights some key points in this respect, notably that a CBAM should result in EU and non-EU suppliers competing on the same CO2 costs basis; that the scope of CBAM should be wide to avoid market distortions, and that both direct and indirect emissions should be included.”

In May 2021 the EU ETS reached a price of Euro50/t following a significant rise from late 2020 onwards.