Displaying items by tag: CSR

Australia: France-based Saint-Gobain has submitted a non-binding indicative offer of US$5.44bn for building materials producer and land banking entity CSR. CSR’s businesses include insulation producer Bradford, fibre cement systems producer Cemintel, wallboard producer Gyprock, autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block producer Hebel and roofing producer Monier. Together, CSR’s building materials units accounted for 72% of its sales in 2023.

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."

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has announced the winners of its Energy and Environment Awards 2021. The awards recognise cement plants’ outstanding environmental and social efforts beyond what is required.

CalPortland’s Mojave plant in California won the Energy Efficiency award for an efficiency-increasing upgrade to its vertical roller mill, which included the introduction of a bottom hopper cone on each of its cyclones and a replacement of its mill fan housing. Argos USA’s Calera plant in Alabama won the Land Stewardship award for its conversion an 8.5ha lime kiln dust stockpile into grassland. The area now forms a vibrant ecosystem including wetland habitats. The producer also installed ponds with the additional purpose of stormwater management. Titan America’s Pennsuco plant in Florida won the Overall Environmental Excellence award for its conversion of the plant’s kiln to natural gas from coal use. The upgrade has also enabled the plant to begin to substitute alternative fuel (AF) in the kiln. The Pennsuco plant plans to produce 100% Portland limestone cement (PLC) by ‘as early as 2023.’

Other awards went to Roanoke Cement’s Troutville, Virginia, plant in the Environmental Performance category and to Cemex USA’s Victorville, California, plant in the Outreach category.

PCA President and CEO Michael Ireland said “The US’s cement manufacturers continue to focus on researching and developing new and innovative ways to reduce their environmental footprint. These accomplishments and industry commitment to carbon neutrality across the entire value chain demonstrate PCA members’ dedication to energy efficiency and a more sustainable future.”

US: Inhabitants of Ravena, New York, have reported a ‘gritty, sticky, dusty’ residue in areas of the town to mayor Bill Misuraca. The residents described the apparent dust spill as ‘more stubborn to remove’ than on previous occasions.

LafargeHolcim US, which operates the Ravena cement plant in the town, contacted the mayor about the issue, stating “We take all concerns and complains about the plant very seriously and aim to operate in a manner that causes zero harm to employees, contractors, customers, and most of all, local residents, in keeping with our core values.” It added "The plant will be working with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to collect data on the type and source of these materials."

Australia: Boral will repurchase up to US$182m of its shares after a string of divestments bolstered the company's balance sheet. It intends to buy back up to 5%, or about 39 million shares, of its issued capital on-market over the next 12 months.

Boral chief executive Mike Kane said that the completion of a number of transactions, including the US$127m sale of its Western Landfill business in Melbourne to Transpacific Industries, had allowed for the share repurchase.

"This buyback reflects Boral's commitment to efficient capital management and delivering improved returns to shareholders," said Kane. "At the same time, we are maintaining flexibility to respond to changes in market conditions and to take advantage of appropriate growth opportunities that may present in the future." Kane had already flagged acquisitions in Asia and North America and said that Boral was too unbalanced towards Australia.

Boral was reportedly considering a sell-off of its building products division, but indicated it would instead look for savings through cost-reduction programs and joint ventures. A brickmaking joint venture with CSR will proceed after receiving approval from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, with the expectation of savings of between US$5.39 – 7.69m between Boral and CSR.