Sweden: Cementa has said that it ‘views positively’ the Swedish government's rapid action in proposing a new bill on limestone mining licencing. It lobbied the government to stick to its schedule to have a temporary licence in place for Cementa’s use of its quarries in Gotland by 31 October 2021. The group said that it is working ‘with full force’ to find practical and legal solutions to secure the Swedish cement supply in the short and long term.

Sustainability manager Karin Comstedt-Webb said “It will be important that the time frames are not limited by the new bill, but that it enables flexibility to secure Swedish cement supply in the future, so that we avoid ending up in the same problematic situation again in just a number of months.” She added “I want to emphasise that Cementa in all situations works with high environmental requirements. Our ambition remains to be able to show that our industrial operations and the production of the building material cement can go hand in hand with protection of Gotland's nature, water and people.”

US: The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a 0.8% year-on-year increase in total US cement shipments in the first half of 2021 to 50.4Mt from 50.0Mt in the first half of 2021. Domestic deliveries constituted 85% of the total at 42.6Mt, against 7.75Mt of imports (15%). Clinker imports were 1.23Mt, with a total value of US$81.6m. Turkey was the lead exporter of clinker to the US in 2020 at 470,000t (38%), followed by Saudi Arabia with 466,000t (38%) and Canada with 276,000t (22%).

Switzerland: Holcim has announced further details of its ‘nature-positive’ 2030 biodiversity and water management strategy. The producer says that under the strategy it will implement a 33% reduction in its cement operations’ water intensity by 2030. It will reduce the water intensity of its ready-mix concrete operations by 15% over the same period. Across all its activities, it is aiming to achieve water positivity at 75% of its sites and install a water recycling system at every site. The company says that it will continue to develop and deploy its nature-based approach across its products and solutions.

Ghana: The High Court of Ghana has ordered the Empire Cement Ghana to stop all activity related to building a new cement plant in the southern part of the McCarthy Hills. It has forced this until a hearing takes place for an injunction application by the McCarthy Hill Residents Association, according to the Ghana News Agency. The site was previously raided by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agents and the police in late June 2021 after a tipoff by local residents. The association alleges that the Chinese-run plant project has been misusing a temporary permit from the EPA to manufacture cement as a mandate to instead start installing equipment at the site.