Displaying items by tag: Strategy

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) recorded consolidated sales of US$17.4bn in 2022, up by 7% year-on-year from 2021 levels. Its net profit was US$652m.

During 2023, SCG plans to invest US$1.22 - 1.53bn in capital expenditure.

Austria: Lafarge Zement has successfully demolished the chimney of a former gas power plant at its Mannersdorf cement plant in Lower Austria. Hans Zöchling GmbH carried out the demolition work. Lafarge Zement plans to use the cleared space for a new solar power plant. Plant manager Helmut Reiterer said that further renewable power projects are also planned at the site.

Peru: Unacem Perú plans to 'significantly increase' its cement production capacity 'in the medium-term future.' Prior to that, the producer will invest US$130m in capital expenditure during 2023, double what it invested in 2022. The investments will go towards slightly expanding the producer's capacity from 8.3Mt/yr and increasing alternative raw materials use in its cement production, including pozzolan and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Additionally, it will open its new Manchay limestone quarry in Pachacámac in early 2023.

Unacem said that it increased its cement sales 'unexpectedly' during 2022. It operated at 85 - 90% capacity utilisation, and continued to export clinker.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has placed a Euro750m sustainability-linked bond as part of a Euro10bn medium-term note programme. Interest on the bond is linked to group CO₂ emissions reduction, according to key performance indicators up to 2026 and 2030. Heidelberg Materials is committed to reducing its emissions per tonne of cementitious product by 30% between 2021 and 2030, to 400kg/t.

Heidelberg Materials' chief financial officer René Aldach said "The placement reinforces our aspiration to achieve the most ambitious climate targets within the industry and to increase the share of sustainable financial instruments to over 70% by 2025. With the denomination of Euro1000, we are the only company on the capital market to date to also offer retail investors the opportunity to invest in sustainability-linked bonds."

Colombia: The Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has validated Grupo Argos Subsidiary Cementos Argos’ CO₂ emissions reduction goals. Cementos Argos aims to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO₂ emissions in line with a well-below 2°C climate change scenario by 2030. Its strategy includes increasing co-processing of alternative fuel (AF), reducing its cement’s clinker factor, optimising its heat and electricity consumption, investing in cleaner technologies, increasing the share of renewable power it uses and diversifying its product range to include more low-carbon products.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) will invest US$2.89bn in new renewable power infrastructure across its businesses. Major growth areas include 3000MW of solar power generation capacity. This will increase group solar capacity by a factor of 15. Saur Energy News has reported that the renewable power projects will support the company’s on-going decarbonisation investments in cement and other businesses.

SCG is committed to achieving a circular business model and net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

Switzerland: Cemex's innovation investments subsidiary Cemex Ventures has made a further investment in solar-powered clinker production system developer Synhelion. Synhelion's technology enables cement plants to entirely replace fuels in their cement production with concentrated solar heat. Cemex Ventures said that its investment reflects the importance of sustainable fuel alternatives for Cemex's 2050 net zero CO₂ emissions strategy.

Other investors include oil company Eni, engineering company SMS Group and airline Swiss.

Mexico: Cemex says that it has received validation from the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for its 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. The roadmap sets out strategies, including carbon capture, for ‘aggressive CO₂ reductions’ across Cemex’s entire value chain, in order to achieve carbon neutral cement production by 2050. The group’s current carbon capture projects portfolio has the potential to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 3Mt/yr.

Cemex CEO Fernando González said “The construction industry is essential to the development and wellbeing of society, and its transition to carbon neutrality is achievable. The SBTi’s validation of our decarbonisation target attests to this, as well as the strength of our commitment.”

India: UltraTech Cement says that it recently commissioned two new grinding units in Northern India. The Aditya Birla subsidiary commissioned a new 1.8Mt/yr grinding unit at its expanded Dhar integrated cement plant in Madhya Pradesh on 27 November 2022. The company also inaugurated its new 1.8Mt/yr Dhule grinding plant in Maharashtra. The projects form the first phase of 12.9Mt/yr-worth of planned expansions, announced by the company in late 2020.

UltraTech Cement's managing director Kailash Jhanwar visited the Dhar cement plant to congratulate the team there on its contribution to the expansion drive.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has revised its Scope 1 CO₂ emissions reduction goal down to 475kg/t of cementitious product by 2030, from 520kg/t previously. The new target is 8.7% lower than the previous one, which it set in November 2020. Votorantim Cimentos previously reduced its emissions per tonne by 20% between 1990 and 2021. The group's targeted reduction from a 2018 base year now equates to 25%. The Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) validated the ambitious target on 1 December 2022.

Votorantim Cimentos expects to achieve its aim through increased alternative fuel (AF) co-processing, substitution of supplementary cementitious materials, improved efficiency and use of renewable power and the development of new technologies, including carbon capture.

The group's global sustainability, institutional relations, product development and engineering director Álvaro Lorenz said “The fight against the negative effects of climate change is at the heart of our strategy and reflects our focus on competitiveness and on creating a positive legacy. The most competitive businesses will be those with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. After all, the environmental crisis is also an economic and social crisis. The validation of our new target by SBTi reinforces our commitment and continuous efforts toward the net-zero agenda.”