Cement Americas provides comprehensive coverage of the North and South American cement markets from raw material extraction to delivery and tranportation to end user.
Issue link: https://cement.epubxp.com/i/189537
NEWS AMERICAS HeidelbergCement Releases Group Sustainability Report HeidelbergCement released its 2011/2012 Sustainability Report, "Foundations," which highlights topics and challenges for the company in its drive for sustainable development. It also details the successes and aims of enterprise sustainability management, as well as the company's activities in the arena of environmental and climate protection, workplace safety and social responsibility. "Sustainable business practices are a fundamental condition as well as an integral component of our business activities, and therefore central to the activities and decisions of our management teams on the ground: The important thing is to minimize the impact of our operations on the local environment and populations, and to utilize our core competencies in a way that contributes to the society at large and generates economic opportunities," said Dr. Bernd Scheifele, CEO of HeidelbergCement AG. "Presenting our sustainability achievements and aims in a report like this is an essential part of making our business transparent and understandable to our stakeholders." The report illustrates how much HeidelbergCement has accomplished over the past two years. For instance, specific net carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 21 percent (compared to 1990 levels) to 607.5 kg per tonne of cement. Moreover, employment of alternative fuels – including biomass – was successfully increased to 21.7 percent of total energy consumption in 2012. Occupational health and safety is another key topic of the report. "In addition to environmental protection, the health and safety of our employees is another focus of the HeidelbergCement sustainability program. The figures prove the effectiveness of our expanded prevention measures and information campaigns. Still, workplace safety remains one of our top priorities, which is why we will continue to raise awareness among management and employees with respect to their responsibility for workplace health and safety," continued Dr. Scheifele. Titan America Air Permit Challenged Environmental groups are once again challenging North Carolina's decision to issue Titan America an air-quality permit for its proposed cement plant in Castle Hayne. by authorizing increased pollution from the proposed Titan America cement plant in New Hanover County," according to documents filed last month in state court. In August, the N.C. Division of Air Quality approved changes to an air permit for the proposed facility, pushing back the permit's expiration date and raising the amount of particulate matter the plant could legally emit. The latter change brings the permit into compliance with recent changes to federal air pollution limits. The law center is representing the N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Fear River Watch, PenderWatch & Conservancy, and the Sierra Club. It filed the challenge with the Office of Administrative Hearings, a quasi-judicial agency that hears administrative law proceedings. But the Southern Environmental Law Center said that this approval of the amended air permit means the "state failed to uphold its legal responsibility to protect people from avoidable harm 4 This is the second lawsuit the group has brought forward challenging the validity of an air permit for Titan. The first court case was filed last April and had a hearing before a judge in August; the case is still pending. The new lawsuit reiterates the same issues as the previous one but with an added emphasis on air pollution. When the state released the updated air permit late August, Titan officials said it didn't change its plans to use technology that emits as little pollution as possible. "We are very pleased that the N.C. Division of Air Quality recognizes the merits of our Carolinas Cement project," Bob Odom, general manager of development for Carolinas Cement, Titan's regional subsidiary, said in a statement. "This modification to our air permit does not change the fact that Carolinas Cement will ... consistently work to ensure the safety of public health and the environment, and will operate the cleanest, most advanced cement plant in the world." CEMENT AMERICAS • Fall 2013 • www.cementamericas.com