21 December 2021

Honduras: Cementos Argos plans to expand the production capacity of its 1Mt/yr Piedras Azules cement plant by 35%. The plan is part of a group of planned projects, including solar power and alternative fuels, with a total investment value of US$23m. The company expects to complete all of the work before 2024. It says that the expanded operations will generate 500 new direct job opportunities.

The company will increase its energy supply from the Comayagua solar power plant to 25% of the plant’s requirements from 20% at present. It will also establish a new 1.2MW solar power plant at Río Blanquito. The cement producer will also strengthen its industrial waste co-processing operations with the aim of achieving 12% refuse-derived fuel (RDF) substitution rate by 2030, the equivalent of 5500t/yr. If reached, this will reduce the company’s carbon footprint in the country by 14%.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Luis Eduardo Tovar said "This investment is a vote of confidence of Argos in Honduras and represents our commitment to the country's economic reactivation and our firm determination to contribute to the consolidation of prosperous and sustainable communities based on competitive and visionary initiatives.” He continued “We will continue our efforts to promote the development of Honduran families through the creation of social value at a national level."

Mexico: Cemex has joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact’s Chief CFO Taskforce for the Sustainable Development Goals. The taskforce engages global chief finance officers (CFOs) in integrating the UN’s 10 sustainable development goals (SDG) into strategy, financing and investor relations in order to create a broad sustainable finance market. Its aims include providing the global development community with a modern view of how capital markets can contribute to financing the SDGs at scale, developing innovative financial instruments and contributing to a broad market of diversified investment opportunities, supporting companies in securing financial capital to transform their business and production models, connecting companies’ SDG investments with increasingly impact-orientated investors, developing internal tools and resources to embed sustainability in corporate finance, promoting partnerships between chief executive officers and CFOs and helping to translate sustainability strategies into financial language for investors and rating agencies.

Cemex’s CFO Maher Al-Haffar said “Climate change is perhaps the biggest challenge of our times, affecting lives and disrupting economies. Only by aligning our financial and climate action strategies will we be able to overcome this challenge.” He added “At Cemex, we share the beliefs embodied in the CFO principles and are honoured to join the UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce for the SDGs, through which we will actively contribute to the innovation of corporate finance that will enable the building of a more resilient future for all.”

India: The government of Kerala says that it will double the total cement production capacity in the state to 14.4Mt from 7.2Mt before 2024. The Times of India newspaper has reported that Industries Minister Pinarayi Rajeev told Keralans that the state government would build a grinding plant at Kinfra in Kannur’s Mattanur district and a blending plant at Kochi Port Trust. Commissioning of both projects is planned by the end of 2023. A second phase of the plan will see additional grinding plants established.

India: First Construction Council and the Indian Cement Review have named Dalmia Cement Bharat managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Mahendra Singhi as Person of the Year at the Cement Expo on Cementing India’s Future for the 2022 financial year. Singhi won the title for his exemplary contribution towards transformational changes in the Indian and global cement sectors, significantly facilitating the transition to a more circular economy. Singhi is the previous president of the Indian Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) and the previous chair of the National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM). He has achieved recognition as a Conference of the Parties (COP) 26 Business Leader and a World Bank Group Carbon Pricing Champion.

Singhi said “I am honoured to receive this award on behalf of people with whom I worked in the last 43 years in various companies who have shaped my clean and sustainable journey and I dedicate this award to them. I feel fortunate that I have been able to have visionary mentors and committed colleagues who could support my cemented journey.” He added “I am hopeful about the future as we transition towards newer business models that will drive us to remain profitable, ensure value creation and, at the same time, achieve environmental sustainability.”