Europe & CIS - 01 October 2009

Cement production is responsible for approximately 5% of the global, man-made CO₂ emissions. As urbanisation and industrialisation continues, so the demand for cement is set to more than double by 2030.

Over the past twenty years cement manufacturers have had to become more competitive to stay in business, due to consolidation in the cement sector, rising energy prices, competing construction materials, eradication of national pricing agreements and rising labour costs. Therefore many managers in cement plants have tried to understand what makes a cement works run at its maximum efficiency.

In Lafarge Cement UK’s latest annual sustainability report, which includes highlights of the group’s performance in 2008, figures show that the company has made considerable achievements in its quest for improved environmental performance.

The International Energy Agency has released two new publications that put forward ideas to ‘decarbonise’ the energy sector and other CO₂ intensive industries.

Restoration planning and implementation is an integral part of successful quarrying. Increasing emphasis on environmental protection means that, for many, a rehabilitation plan is an essential part of the permitting process.

Gypsum is a construction mineral eternally recyclable, quarried worldwide and used in an outstanding sustainable way in buildings. Gypsum building materials are used in all construction types (residential, non-residential, new or refurbished).

Concrete is the world’s most versatile and most used industrial product, but it is made with cement, a product with more CO₂ emissions than any other. How then can we produce sustainable concrete?

Metso has won a €27 million contract to supply equipment for the Norsk Stein Jelsa quarry expansion. Once completed, production capacity at the quarry will have doubled.