Sustainable Development

The challenges of sustainable construction

Sustainable construction takes account of 2 major global challenges.

• the environmental challenge: when a building's total lifecycle is considered, the construction industry:
  • is responsible for 40% of CO2 emissions and waste in developed countries,
  • accounts for 40 % of the energy demand in these countries.
• the economic and social challenge: the construction sector :
  • accounts for 10% of world G.D.P. (Gross Domestic Product),
  • and employs over 100 million people, i.e. 28% of employment in the world.

Building sustainably

Sustainable construction aims to limit the environmental and human impact of construction while guaranteeing the highest quality in terms of esthetics, durability and strength. Sustainable construction takes account of the complete lifecycle of a building, from the choice of initial materials to demolition and recycling. Because only one-eight of the consumption of energy in the life of a building comes from the production of the building materials.

Sustainable construction means:

• reducing the negative impact of building sites to benefit both workers and nearby residents (noise, dust, repetitive tasks, etc),
• integrating renewable energy sources at the design stage,
• using recyclable materials during construction to preserve natural resources,
• improving the thermal inertia of buildings to reduce heating and air-conditioning costs as well as CO2 emissions,
• controlling the aging of constructions ,
• recycling materials and structures after demolition,
• designing low-cost housing to improve living conditions for low income populations.

Sustainable housing at a reasonable cost? The "Affordable Housing for the Masses" project launched in India by Lafarge aims to facilitate access to housing for underprivileged populations. This project asserts the legitimacy of using concrete and cement to construct low-cost houses that take environmental considerations into account. This is also the goal of the Eco-City Project, initiated by Lafarge and the W.W.F. (World Wide Fund for Nature) in South Africa. Lafarge South Africa donated 300 tons of cement and 70 m³ of concrete to build a village of 30 "green" houses in Midrand, a poor district of Johannesburg. These houses have low energy consumption thanks, in particular, to the use of solar energy.

More than 500 Lafarge researchers are dedicated to developing new materials with a view to sustainable construction.

For example:

• Agilia® self-placing concrete does not require a "vibration" phase. This facilitates application and eliminates an unpleasant task on the conventional building site. This very fluid concrete fills the form evenly, saving time and energy and reducing noise pollution for neighbors.
• Ductal® concrete offers excellent mechanical properties, such as exceptional strength, and provides significant savings thanks to a reduced consumption of raw materials and energy.

The Group analyzes the lifecycle of materials to establish Environmental and Health Data Sheets (E.H.D.S.). These serve as a basis on which new materials with optimized performance characteristics can be developed.

Sustained efforts are also made to optimize the recycling of materials, particularly plasterboard. Lafarge:

• uses waste and byproducts from other industries to replace up to 50% of natural raw materials,
• covers all of its plasterboard sheets with paper made from recycled fibers.

The Group works with industrial and scientific partners on processes to capture and store carbon as part of its ongoing efforts to reverse climate change.

Lafarge also launched the educational and research Chair in "Science of Materials for Sustainable Construction" in 2006, in partnership with the Ecole des Ponts and the Ecole Polytechnique. This unique teaching and research program seeks to develop the scientific foundations of sustainable construction.