Big Tick winner

Environmental Impact, Example of Excellence

Lafarge Cement - Cementing relations in eco-efficiency

Eco-efficiency Award 2007

By expanding eco-efficiency initiatives into new markets and working with partners, Lafarge Cement has helped customers reduce waste and cut its own landfill costs by £1.5 million.

Processes

Lafarge Cement UK  is part of the global Lafarge Group, a world leader in building materials.  Lafarge Cement supplies 6 million tonnes of cement per year, the manufacture of which incurs significant environmental impacts.

To tackle these impacts, the company aims to reduce emissions and fossil fuel consumption, increase the use of waste materials and reduce the use of virgin materials.

An example of Lafarge Cement’s eco-efficiency initiatives is the use of Pulverised Fuel Ash in packed cement.  While it was common practise for such wastes to be added to cement in the concrete mixes at ready-mix and concrete product plants, the packed market, which accounts for approximately 20% of LCUK sales, was on pure cement.

The company also introduced plastic packaging instead of conventional paper sack for packed cement. This has reduced waste and improved recovery of material, since it had proved very difficult to separate the paper and plastic.

In addition, Lafarge has:

  • Reduced energy consumption, mainly via the recovery of energy from waste streams such as scrap tyres and sewage
  • Reduced its own waste
  • Established joint venture operations with companies such as Michelin Tyres and ScottishPower to ensure sufficient supplies of suitable alternative materials

Impact

  • Reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill from 13kg per tonne cement in 2000 to 2.9kg per tonne in 2005.
  • Reduced landfill by more than 600,000 tonnes per year by using materials otherwise destined for landfill.
  • Savings of £1.5m per annum on landfill charges based on reduction in tonnage disposed of between 2000 and 2005.
  • Reduced use of natural raw materials by 4% per tonne produced.
  • The company received an 80% reduction in Climate Change Levy by achieving targets to reduce carbon emissions through the recovery of energy from waste. This equated to more than £9m per annum.
  • Adding waste materials to packed cement, led to estimated reductions of 180k tonnes CO2 per annum.

See also