Displaying items by tag: community

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has donated 3000 Covid-19 vaccinations to the Lorma Medical Center in San Fernando, La Union. The Business Mirror newspaper has reported that the company aims to help increase inoculation levels in remote parts of the province, at a time when tourism is beginning again.

Vice president and head of communications and corporate social responsibility Cara Ramirez said “We are thankful to the Lorma Medical Center for being our partner in providing vaccines to our neighbours in La Union. We are hopeful that this donation will further strengthen the province's resilience against the disease as we enter summer and tourism once again booms. While the pandemic appears to be easing, we need to remain vigilant and encourage everyone to avail themselves of the vaccines to be more protected.”

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has partnered with the Society for Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) to integrate calcined clay technology into its operations in order to commence production of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). United News of India has reported that the producer says that this type of composite cement reduces the product's clinker factor by 50% and its carbon footprint by 40%.

JK Lakshmi Cement said "This partnership will be a game-changer for the cement industry, giving impetus to its efforts in mitigating emissions, combating climate change and bringing a holistic change in the surrounding communities to create sustainable livelihoods in large numbers."

Colombia: Cementos Argos says that 368,000 people directly benefited from its social investment programmes in Colombia in 2021. During the year, the company invested US$4.56m in projects including its Hogares Saludables home improvement programme and its Via Forte road infrastructure programme. The Via Forte programme has laid 600km of road since 2017, while the Hogares Saludables programme aims to assist and improve over 10,000 homes by 2027.

Spain: FYM will host 350 pupils from Malaga's primary schools on its Feet on the Ground sustainability awareness initiative. The initiative consists of using digital resources and fieldwork to explore Malaga's biodiversity. It will highlight the work of HeidelbergCement's Spanish quarry restoration partner Tormes Foundation. FYM said that the initiative is part of its strategy to improve quality of life and the environment in areas where it operates, informed by transparency and dialogue with host communities.

Colombia: Cementos Argos has donated 21,500 bags (1075t) of cement to the Mayor's Office of Sogamoso to contribute to the rehabilitation of several main roads in Sogamoso, Boyacá and thus contribute to the improvement of the mobility of the municipality and benefit to more than 30,000 people. The company’s Sogamoso de Argos plant is in the vicinity.

“This donation has been fundamental for us. An acknowledgment, a thank you to Argos,” commented Rigoberto Alfonso, mayor of Sogamoso.

Rwanda: PPC subsidiary CimeRwa reached a total of US$115,000-worth of donations given to its host communities in the 23-month period which ended on 30 November 2021. The New Times newspaper has reported that the company distributed the donations under five pillars: education, health, enterprise development, environmental protection and sustainable infrastructure development. It partnered with the Rwanda Ministry of Education to build classrooms for schoolchildren and gave its backing to self-help initiatives for local women. Helping to overcome the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in host communities during the past two years gave a specific focus to all of the producer's efforts.

CimeRwa said "The company rose to the challenge by putting measures in place to safeguard the community it operates in. This includes the provision of face masks to employees and surrounding community members and launching extensive Covid-19 awareness campaigns." It continued “The CimeRwa team also made a contribution towards the Covid-19 fund and helped the Ministry of Health by facilitating screening and testing of all CimeRwa staff and people in surrounding communities.”

India: Dalmia Cement has presented its plans for its planned Bokaro, Jharkhand, grinding plant expansion and heard locals' concerns at a community meeting. The company said that the plant would increase local employment and agreed to compensate communities impacted by its operations. The plans consist of the installation of 2Mt/yr-worth of new grinding capacity on 0.1ha of land.

Colombia: Dow Jones has named Grupo Argos in its Sustainability Index 2021, the company’s ninth time appearing in the ranking. It achieved its highest ratings in materiality, risk management, environmental reporting, climate change strategy, social reporting and human rights. The group said that the listing constitutes its recognition as the most sustainable cement company in the world. Its sustainable initiatives include offering collection of its used cement bags, supplying all the electricity for its Colombian operations from renewable sources and currently having three credit facilities linked to environmental, social and governance indicators.

Legal and sustainability vice-president Maria Isabel Echeverri said “At Argos, we are greatly satisfied with this result which places us as a world benchmark in sustainability and reassures our commitment to closing gaps and implementing best practices in social, environmental, financial and corporate governance matters. This drives us to continue moving forward in creating social value to build the dreams of housing and infrastructure for millions of people.”

Switzerland: Holcim has announced new global social impact targets for 2030 under its new People Strategy. The targets fall under three pillars. These are ‘bridging the housing and infrastructure gap,’ ‘improving livelihoods’ and ‘upholding human rights.’ The company says that this will entail efforts to ensure adequate housing and infrastructure for all, support for health, education and skill building and the implementation of due diligence across its value chain. The strategy includes a target to create Euro468m of social value by 2030. The figure will include the total value of schools, hospitals, rural roads and affordable housing renovated or built in the period. Between 2016 and 2020, Holcim benefited over 31m people with Euro187.21m in social investment.

CEO Jan Jenisch said “Our business plays an essential role in society's progress. We build the roads, bridges, hospitals and schools that enable people to thrive around the world. With 3bn people expected to lack access to adequate housing by 2030, I am committed to putting our business to work to uplift our communities.”

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement subsidiary Hachinohe Cement has announced that it will be receiving heavy oil and woodchips from cargo washed ashore from the wreck of a ship at Hachinohe port on 11 August 2021. The company plans to use the waste as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for cement production at its cement Hachinohe cement plant. The company said that the oil spill from the incident has had a great impact on the region. It added “In the future, we would like to actively promote the acceptance of wreckage with heavy oil attached and cooperate in the early resolution of the situation.”