EPD, EMS, recycling metrics populate LafargeHolcim sustainability plan

Looking beyond rationalized cement capacity with integrated concrete and aggregate production assets, LafargeHolcim Ltd. aims to make its mark in the global construction supply chain as part of a new sustainability initiative, The 2030 Plan.

“The sector has a role to play in providing collective solutions, from materials manufacturing processes and product development to building design and construction methods,” management notes. “As the building materials industry leader, LafargeHolcim has a responsibility, the scale and the geographic footprint to enable widespread, positive, global and local change in construction.”

The producer has mapped a 15-year schedule of operating benchmarks, metrics and other goals for its cement, concrete and aggregate businesses across the globe:

  • Deploying integrated, certified Environmental Management Systems;
  • Transparently disclosing products’ carbon dioxide footprint through Environmental Product Declarations;
  • Offering innovative product and project delivery solutions through which building or infrastructure customers avoid 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually;
  • Optimizing product engineering and performance whereby material required for concrete structures can be reduced while achieving the same functionality as conventional designs;
  • Improving transportation fleet performance and using low-carbon shipping modes, especially water and rail, where economically and technically feasible;
  • Increasing by four fold the volume of aggregates, presently around 7 million tons/year, recycled from construction, demolition and reclaimed asphalt; and,
  • Boosting by 20 percent or more the volume of waste-derived fuels in cement production, presently about 60 million tons/year.

“The 2030 Plan is the new sustainability vision of LafargeHolcim,” notes Head of Sustainable Development Bernard Mathieu in a video brief. “We want to lead in sustainability and set new standards[;] help transform the way the whole construction industry works[;] and[,] encourage the whole sector in addressing environmental and social challenges. We will not only focus on our business activities, but go beyond the fence line over the entire construction value chain. The 2030 Plan encompasses our commitment along four focus areas: Climate, Circular Economy, Water and Nature, People and Communities. At LafargeHolcim, we want to build for tomorrow.”

The 2030 Plan aligns with the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, which sponsors a regional and global competition every three years for projects at concept or contract stage. A Global Bronze prize recipient recognized in 2014, The Dryline, addresses New York City’s vulnerability to coastal flooding with a protective ribbon in southern Manhattan. Created by a consortium led by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and One Architecture, the 13-km (8-mile) long infrastructural barrier incorporates public space with it doubling as parks, seating, bicycle shelters and skateboard ramps. Construction is set to start in 2017 on the project, which has received $335 million from the Federal government. NYC allocated $170 million for the construction of storm water management infrastructure that will complement The Dryline.