Sustainable Development

The aim of the Copenhagen conference was to continue in the footsteps of the Kyoto Protocol and formalize nations' commitments and efforts in the fight against climate change.

Although several ambitious objectives were not achieved, the Group nevertheless believes that positive aspects emerged:

• raising of global awareness with significant involvement by governments, companies, NGOs and public opinion,
• the diversity of discussions and clarification of challenges, especially in relation to tackling deforestation and the development of an international funding mechanism for furtheractions,
• the announcement of firm commitments by several countries including Brazil, Japan, China and the United States.

The Copenhagen conference paves the way for a more ambitious future agreement and legitimizes initiatives undertaken by some companies in specific sectors to reduce their environmental footprint in a coordinated way. Lafarge along with 20 cement manufacturers also intend to continue their efforts to take a sector-based approach within the framework of the CSI (Cement Sustainable Initiative) within the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development).

The ambitions of Lafarge, which has been committed to the fight against climate change since 2001, have been clearly set out as part of the pioneering partnership with WWF. They involve reductions, in the period 1990-2010, of:

• 10% in its absolute gross emissions in industrialized countries,
• 20% in its net emissions per ton of cement produced worldwide.

 
Four main levers are used to reduce emissions:

• modernization of equipment to increase energy efficiency,
• reduction in the energy consumption of kilns,
• use of alternative fuels (waste and biomass considered to be neutral in terms of CO2 emissions),
• use of industrial waste (especially slag, fly ash and pozzolan) in the production of cement.

 
The Group also invests in research to:

• develop product ranges with low CO2 content,
• develop more energy efficient procedures,
• optimize concrete formulations and recycling.

But Lafarge cannot act alone. Lafarge, convinced that the issue of global warming involves the whole sector, takes a strong partnership approach.
The example of the CSI (Cement Sustainability Initiative) by the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) is particularly important.
Alongside 21 cement companies operating on 5 continents and representing more than 40% of global production, Lafarge is joint chair of the CSI action program. This initiative promotes a sector-wide approach from the cement industry to climate change challenges. The aim is to create balanced progress through:

• a quota exchange mechanism ("cap & trade") in developed countries,
• a mechanism to encourage a reduction in intensities of CO2 per ton of cement in emerging countries.

The cement sector's approach, which was already presented at the last climate conference in Poznan (December 2008), will be set out by members of the CSI at the Copenhagen conference.

The cement industry plays an important role in the fight against global warming. This is because:

• cement manufacturing is the source of around 5% of CO2 emissions,
• 80% of global demand for cement now comes from emerging countries (50% of which from China),
• this global demand is likely to almost double by 2030, due to the economic growth of emerging markets and significant needs in terms of housing, schools, hospitals and infrastructure.

The main challenge for the cement industry is therefore to satisfy this growing demand while reducing the carbon intensity of its own operations and contributing to better energy efficiency of buildings.