SUSTAINABILITY
Cemex
BUILDING A BETTER
FUTURE C
EMEX has been making sustainable improvements to its packaging for over a decade. In 2012, CEMEX was the first cement company in
the world to provide verified carbon labels for its cements produced in the UK. We continue to invest heavily across the business to enable us to make rigorous improvements, from new and improved packaging and labelling solutions, to localised interventions such as 100% paperless delivery systems for our Readymix business, through to major plant investments.
UK Plastic Packaging Tax As the plastic packaging tax came into force in the UK on 1 April 2022, a firm directive is now fixed on stimulating the market in recycled plastic by providing a clear economic incentive for industry to use recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic packaging. By 2030, our main objective is to maximise the use of waste within our plants. Globally, during 2021, we managed close to 23 million tons of waste and non-recyclable by-products - over 57 times more waste than we sent to landfill. More urgent action is required to reduce the detrimental impact plastic packaging has on many eco-systems across our planet, threatening wildlife, and even human health. There is an enormous amount of work to do globally to address the volume of plastic packaging in routine use and equally to provide new alternatives for customers. At our key Concrete Products plant at Northfleet,
14
Paul Fletcher, Head of European Sustainability at CEMEX, explores how CEMEX’s Future In Action ESG strategy is working with merchants to reduce climate impact and waste.
Kent, a £100k CapEx investment has enabled the introduction of a new high-strength banding process, so that plastic hoods are no longer required on dense and lightweight bricks and concrete blocks. As a result, Northfleet has eradicated 6.1 tonnes of plastic, or the equivalent of over 65,000 plastic water bottles, per year from its traditional plastic packaging process.
Weatherproof Packaging At our Rugby Cement plant, two new lines are now operating alongside our new paper bagging line, utilising the very best technology that exists globally, to pack 25kg of cement into plastic bags. Merchants are now reporting fewer broken bags and no longer need additional plastic waterproof sheeting to cover our products in transit. Importantly, the new packaging meets the minimum requirement of 30% recycled plastic.
In 2008, CEMEX launched the first pallet collection system in the cement business, in conjunction with European Logistics Management, the UK leader in the management and control of returnable transit packaging. The longstanding relationship and pallet recovery programme actively continues, recovering pallets for reconditioning and recycling back into the system, minimising waste and offering a valuable service to customers.
At our Northfleet plant we are increasing the volume of void packs which reduces the volume of timber palleted products. Over 100 tonnes of timber – roughly the equivalent of 100 ten-
foot-high oak trees – was saved in 2021 and it is expected this figure will increase further in 2022.
In 2020, CEMEX was the first UK manufacturer to introduce net-zero CO2 concrete and low carbon cement products to the market under the VERTUA family of low carbon and sustainable Urbanisation Solutions. The introduction of our ReadyBlock Zero concrete block shortly after, provides housebuilders and developers with a carbon neutral concrete block alternative. We have recently added a zero-carbon lightweight concrete block and common brick to the range. This means we now offer complete concrete block solutions for housebuilders and commercial developers, using solely CarbonNeutral products, which significantly decrease the carbon footprint of the construction project. To put this into perspective, an average three- bedroom home uses 3,500 concrete blocks to build, which, when using traditional products, equates to a total emissions rate of 14,000 kg/ CO2e. This is the equivalent of a person on a plane travelling 2.4 times round the earth. Using ReadyBlock Zero and ReadyBrick Zero products would reduce the CO2e by 70% so would take this down to around 4,200 kg.
Green Fleets
We have added 10 new lower emission tippers to our fleet, with upgraded safety features, a higher payload and a step change in decarbonisation. By 2022, CEMEX aims to reach a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions in its European operations, 8 years ahead of its global target. Our Future In Action programme is continuously pioneering ways to reduce its environmental impact whilst providing merchants and customers with a broad range of sustainable products and solutions. n
A supplement to builders merchants journal November 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
