CNBM accedes to UN Global Compact

China National Building Materials Group Corporation (CNBM) has formally acceded to the UN Global Compact, with Chairman Song Zhiping as a member of the 2nd Presidium of Global Compact Network China. On 25 February, the Annual Conference & General Election of the Presidium of Global Compact Network China took place in Beijing. CNBM President Yao Yan was present and delivered a speech, introducing CNBM's main practice of advancing social responsibility and achievements in this respect. She noted that CNBM is committed to building a healthy central enterprise, with the core values of "innovation, performance, harmony, responsibility". Under the principle of "triple bottom line" and the ten principles of the Global Compact, based on interested parties' appeals, CNBM has established a responsibility framework characteristic of CNBM and systematically advanced the practice of social responsibility.

Contributing to China’s sustainable development

According to Yao, after its accession to the UN Global Compact, CNBM will continue to adhere to the strategy of sustainable development to ensure safety, environmental friendliness and resource conservation. They will heed the business concept of human orientation to create good products, services, benefits and wellbeing for consumers, staff, community residents and investors. They will adhere to the competitive concepts of coexistence and collective benefit to advance the common progress of the industry. Also, CNBM will make all-out efforts to build an innovation-oriented, energy-conserving, environmental-friendly and socially responsible enterprise, striving to be harmonious with nature, society, competitors and staff, and make its contribution to the sustainable development of China.

The UN Global Compact

The UN Global Compact initiative was proposed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January 1999 and was officially launched at the UN headquarters in July 2000. It is aimed at calling on enterprises to observe, support and implement a set of fundamental principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption in their respective scope of influence. The goal is to play a responsible and creative role in building a global framework for promoting sustainable growth and enhancing social benefit.

Nowadays, facing environmental problems such as global resource exhaustion, ecological deterioration and climatic disaster, all walks of life are seeking effective ways to promote the sustainable development of economy with environment and society. The Global Compact has become the most influential initiative of the international community to promote corporate social responsibility. Since its establishment, Global Compact Network China has made positive and effective efforts in promoting Chinese enterprises' transformative development modes and exploring the harmony of enterprises with environment and society.

As a central enterprise in the fully competitive field, CNBM has pressed ahead with integration and optimisation, energy conservation and emission reduction, transformation and upgrading, thus accomplishing healthy, steady and rapid development. Over the decade, CNBM has achieved operating revenues of over 250 billion yuan with a profit of over 12 billion yuan, up over 100 times. Also, CNBM has made the Fortune Global 500 list for consecutive years, ranked 319th in 2013 and has become the world's second-largest building materials enterprise and largest cement manufacturer. While growing rapidly, CNBM has kept to the development concept of "properly using resources to serve construction", actively explored sustainable development, and made unremitting efforts to build a beautiful and environmentally friendly China.

CBMA appoints new guest professors

In other company news, China Building Materials Academy has appointed five high-profile scholars as guest professors. On 17 February an academic exchange was held alongside the appointment ceremony, in which Prof. Harald Justnes, chief scientist of Stiftelsen for industriell og teknisk forskning, Prof. Duncan Herfort, chief scientist of Aalborg Portland, Denmark, Prof. Shunsuke Hanehara of Iwate University, Prof. Etsuo Sakai of Tokyo Institute of Technology and Prof. Olafur Wallevik, head of Basic Research at Innovation Center Iceland were presented with their letters of appointment.

During the academic exchange, Prof. Karen Scrivener gave a presentation on calcined clay-limestone composites. Prof. Justnes gave a presentation reviewing the physical properties of concrete with supplementary constituents and Prof. Herfort made a presentation reviewing clinker sintering and cement hydration. Prof. Etsuo Sakai’s presentation was entitled ‘Use Sodium Gluconate for Control and Content Determination of Cement Hydration in Recycled Fresh Concrete Mortar’ and it analysed cement mortar recycling and hydration control in the process of fresh concrete production.

A further appointment was that of Prof. Martin Schneider, managing director of the European Cement Research Academy. He was presented with a certificate and plate of appointment as guest professor, and gave an academic presentation entitled ‘Technical Progress of the Cement Industry’. Yao Yan, President of the China National Building Materials Group Corporation, and Professor Schneider also signed a memorandum of cooperation between CBMA and ECRA.

Adapted from press release by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/asia-pacific-rim/14042014/cnbm_accedes_to_un_global_compact_05/