Sustainable Development

The very first olive harvest in Meknes quarry produced a small quantity of oil, Lafarge Cement in Morocco hopes to increase this production in the coming years.

The quarry rehabilitation program in the Meknes region was launched in 2003 and the first trees were planted in 2005. The region's soil and climate are favorable to the growth of olive trees, which are very widespread in the region and whose cultivation is one of the main sources of income.

A partnership with the "High Commission for Waters, Forests and Combating Desertification" was agreed in 2007 and enables the Group to receive around 8,000 trees free of charge each year. The trees are maintained by the quarry teams, with the help of a subcontractor for watering and pruning.

So far more than 70,000 trees have been planted, including 12,000 olive trees.

In November 2009, the very first olives were harvested and pressed. The oil produced was not sold on.

As the olive trees already planted gradually mature, the Group hopes to increase its olive oil production in coming years and be able to sell it. The money raised will enable it to develop new corporate activities for the benefit of local communities.

Lafarge in Morocco aims to continue strengthening its commitment to biodiversity by developing new projects:

• development of a 2km touristic and educational biodiversity tour around Meknes,
• installation of an observatory and the creation of a quarry museum dedicated to geology and biodiversity.

 
A partnership between the Group and France's National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) is also underway. This collaboration has already led to the introduction of the argan, a species of tree new to the region famous for only growing in southern Morocco.

• Lafarge teams at the Meknes plant,
• members of the High Commission for Waters, Forests and Combating Desertification,
• members of INRA,
• local communities.