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Lafarge UK's release of its 2011 Sustainability Report for its cement business this week presented some bold headline figures. Key statistics for the period covering 2009 - 2011 included a 17% reduction in CO2 emissions through the use of solid recovered fuels (SRF), a 17% reduction in the use of electricity and a 26% cut in emissions to air.

For a European producer this is some positive news in a time of gloom. Looking a little deeper into the report reveals the usual ambiguities that can arise with interpreting statistics. Lafarge UK's fossil fuel consumption actually rose by 9% from 285,000t in 2009 to 311,000t in 2011. CO2 emissions to air rose by 15% from 2.31Mt to 2.65Mt. In terms of emissions per tonne of Portland Cement Equivalent (tPCE), the figures are more encouraging with fossil fuel use decreasing from 87kg/tPCE to 82kg/tPCE (6%) and CO2 emissions remaining stable at 704kg/tPCE. These figures are good considering that Lafarge's production increased from 2009 to 2011 due to construction for the London 2012 Olympics.

As mentioned in Edwin A R Trout's article 'The British cement industry in 2011 and 2012' the move to refuse-derived fuels (RDF) has consistently made the news with projects at several Lafarge plants. RDF use at Lafarge UK plants rose by 48%, from 92,758t in 2009 to 137,143t in 2011. Each of the alternate fuels – tyres, waste-derived liquid fuel, processed sewage pellets (PSP), meat and bone meal, SRF – roughly increased its unit share per tonne of cement produced by 2%.

Lafarge UK is clearly reacting to uncertain input costs and preparing for any further future green taxes. It failed to meet its 2011 target rate for RDF substitution of 31% (it reached 29%) but it has raised the target to 35% for 2012. It is also continuing to secure permits for PSP use at its Dunbar plant and SRF use at its Hope plant, although by the time this is approved Hope may be someone else's facility. However, the key question is, how can Lafarge push alternate fuels? It will be interesting to see how much Lafarge UK's fuel mix can be reduced in cost over the next five years.

India: Sagar Cements has announced its director, Wemer CR Poot, has resigned from the board with effect from 28 September 2012. John Eric Fernand Pascal Cesar Bertrand has been appointed as the new company director from 17 October 2012.

Germany: Indian filter manufacturer Himenviro has invested in Intensiv-Filter & Co KG. On 1 October 2012 Himenviro acquired around 60 employees at Intensiv-Filter's Velbert-Langenberg site. The German industrial dust specialist declared insolvency in May 2012.

"The competence and experience of the Intensiv-Filter team combined with the technical know-how of the investor has set the course for a long-term successful filter technology company," said temporary insolvency trustee Dr Marc d'Avoine. Part of the agreement between the insolvency administrator and the Himenviro was to maintain the employment of Intensiv-Filter's experienced workforce.

Thailand: Siam Cement's third-quarter net profit has fallen by 13% to US$201m from US$240m. The conglomerate blamed higher expenses and the cost of sales.

For the quarter ending on 30 September 2012, sales increased by 11% to US$3.39bn from US$3.01bn. The cost of sales rose by 9.1% to US$2.89bn from US$2.65bn. Total expenses grew by 15% to US$305m from US$266m. Contributions from the cement unit rose by 33% to US$2.45bn.

Despite the profit decline, the conglomerate said that its board had approved plans to spend US$358m on a new cement plant in Indonesia and US$179m on an expansion of its cement business in Cambodia. Siam Cement has aggressively expanded its business in local and overseas markets over the past few years, particularly in members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as it seeks to boost future income and diversify risk across markets.

South Africa: Sephaku Cement, a subsidiary of Nigeria's Dangote Cement, has secured US$223m of domestic debt funding for a US$389m cement plant and grinding facility project in Mpumalanga and North West provinces.

Two of the country's big four banks, Standard Bank and Nedbank, advised by Sasfin Capital, have jointly funded the 10-year deal. Sephaku said this was a 'strong' vote of confidence in South Africa's market and that the agreement would enable it to become a significant competitor in the wholesale and retail cement trade in the region.

Sephaku Cement, established in 2006, is an associate of JSE-listed Sephaku Holdings, a 64%-owned subsidiary of Nigerian-based Dangote Cement. Dangote had invested more than US$126m in the venture, the largest ever foreign direct investment in South Africa by an African company. The new project includes a production facility, which would produce about 1.2Mt/yr, at Aganang near Lichtenburg in North West.

India: Business conglomerate Aditya Birla Group has revived negotiations to purchase cement manufacturer Jaiprakash Associates' cement plants in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Aditya Birla is reported to have made an offer of up to US$130/t to buy the cement assets of Jaiprakash Associates which have an overall capacity of 9.8Mt. This follows Irish building materials firm CRH decision to cancel talks with Jaiprakash Associates in early October 2012. In August 2012 CRH was reportedly close to buying a 51% equity stake in the Indian cement producer's plants in Gujarat. Top officials from Aditya Birla's cement business and executives from foreign lender Barclays Bank are in talks to finalise the pricing of the deal.

US: The Carroll County Board of Commissioners has unanimously approved plans by Lehigh Cement Co. that will allow it to build an underground conveyor system from the company's New Windsor quarry to the plant in Union Bridge, Maryland.

The conveyor transportation systems are now allowed to be built in both the county's industrial zoning districts and the agricultural district. Conveyor systems will be prohibited in residential districts and in all other zoning types they will be listed as a conditional use, which means they would have to be approved by the county board of zoning appeals. Lehigh Cement has said that a conveyor system is the favoured method for transporting limestone from its quarry to the plant in Union Bridge, about 6km away, compared to other options like using rail or trucks.

Once completed the conveyer will carry about 12,000t/day of stone from the quarry to the plant. Lehigh needs to get material from the new quarry after its quarry in Union Bridge ends production in 2020. Lehigh says the conveyor will be 3m to 20m underground.

Russia: Holcim Russia has decided to invest Euro350m towards upgrading its Volskcement plant in the Saratov region. The modernisation project will include the installation of a new 'semi-wet' production line with a capacity of 2500t/day. Currently the plant uses a wet process. Construction will take two years and is expected to start in the second quarter 2013. The new line will be commissioned in the third quarter of 2016.

Kenya: ARM Cement (formerly known as Athi River Mining Ltd) has posted a net profit of US$9.71m for the first nine months of 2012. This marks a 328% growth in profit compared to same period in 2011 when it made US$2.26m. ARM's turnover has climbed by 29% to US$90.7m, driven primarily by higher sales of its Rhino Cement brand.

ARM Cement Ltd received US$50m from the African Finance Corporation (AFC) to partly fund a plant in Tanzania as well as expansion efforts into the region. Rhino Cement, which is ARM's flagship brand, was launched in Tanzania in October 2012.

"(The Tanzanian launch) will contribute to the group revenues in the fourth quarter of 2012," said the company in a statement. The statement further explained that construction at a 1.2Mt/yr clinker plant in Tanga is progressing to schedule. ARMs' overall outlook remains optimistic for the immediate future with expectations of growth in demand for Rhino Cement and other products.

Meanwhile, Standard Investment Bank (SIB) has announced that, since 2007, the cement industry players in east Africa have invested over US$500m into capacity expansion projects in the region. This investment has seen cement grinding capacity in the region increase by 65.8% over the same period to 10.4Mt/yr, a figure that SIB expects to further increase by 41.8% to 14.76Mt/yr by 2015.

Between 2001 and 2010 total cement traded across the East African Community jumped from 0.45Mt/yr to 2.18Mt/yr. Kenya remains the region's largest net exporter with 0.61Mt in 2010, up from 0.23Mt in 2002. Rwanda is the largest net importer with 0.21Mt in 2010.

UK: Lafarge has marked its 10th year of sustainability reporting in the UK with the release of its 2011/2012 Sustainability Reports.

Lafarge says that it has made significant investment in developing its sustainable credentials. Waste and water consumption have been cut by 92% and 88% respectively in the cement business since reporting began in 2001. The latest reports also show major advances in the reduction of emissions to air, an increase in the amount of material being moved by rail, greater bio-diversity in its landholdings and improvements in health and safety performance.

"Despite the economic downturn and challenging conditions in the construction market in recent years we have continued to invest in, and demonstrate our commitment to sustainability across, our UK businesses," said, the president of Lafarge UK, Dyfrig James.

Key highlights of the 2011 Sustainability Report for Lafarge Cement, which covers the period 2009 - 2011 inclusive in the UK include:

1. A 17% reduction in CO2 emissions through increased usage of sustainable, waste-derived fuels such as waste tyres and solid recovered fuel (SRF) in manufacturing processes.

2. A 17% reduction in the use of electricity driven by the implementation of Lafarge Cement's 'Golden Rules of Energy Management.'

3. A 26% cut in emissions to air in 2011.

4. Major reductions in waste production, with 76% of all non-hazardous waste sent off site now being recycled.

5. Progression in the regeneration of landholdings including granted approval for the creation of a mixed-use community including 500 new homes at the former Northfleet Works.

6. Significant improvements in health and safety performance, including a 31% decline in first aid instances in 2011 and Cookstown Works achieving a global record of 10 years with no Lost-Time Incidents (LTIs).

7. Piloting of independent water footprint assessments at a number of plants to identify ways to increase efficiency of water use.

8. Winning the Environment Agency Water Save Award for the Cauldon Shale Lake Project – the creation of a closed loop water system to recirculate water for gas conditioning and industrial cooling at Cauldon Works.

9. Growth in sales of lower CO2 packed cements from 51% in 2009 to 54% in 2011.

Lafarge also made improvements in its extensive UK ready-mix concrete operations, which saw a 30% reduction in the CO2 emissions resulting from concrete production compared to figures recorded in 1990 and a 16% reduction in CO2/t between 2010 and 2011.