Holcim US has formal- At Holcim Switzerland, Holcim’s global EMR

■ We are committed to increasing our use of ized its approach to
stakeholder engagement
waste materials, whilst ensuring they have no
and now leads the US
adverse impact on public health, environment or cement industry in
establishing the practice
product quality. (see page 11).
active engagement
of local stakeholders
has enabled the use of a
variety of alternative
fuels and raw materials
(see page 22).
standard prescribes appro-
priate equipment and
common methodology for
measuring and reporting
emissions (see page 19).

Managing our atmospheric emissions

■ As we seek to substitute fossil fuels with waste
materials, our atmospheric emissions are increas-
ingly coming under scrutiny.

■ Uniquely in our industry, we have developed a

corporate standard for emissions monitoring and
reporting (EMR). The standard will be used by all
our clinker producing kilns worldwide by the end
of 2003.

The health and safety of our employees

■ The health and safety of the people working on
our sites is a priority for us. Our current data tell
us that we need to take steps to improve our per- Cement Manufacturing Process
formance. We will therefore implement global
occupational health & safety (OH&S) standards in
all Group companies by the end of 2005.

A strong emphasis on social responsibility Quarrying and Raw Materials Preparation Clinker Production Cement Grinding and Distribution
■ The nature of the cement industry means that
there are local as well as global impacts from our Crusher Raw mill Cement mill
operations. Our license to operate therefore The quarried material is Transport Mixing bed The homoge- Preheater Clinker cooler Cement clinker is ground
comes very directly from the communities and reduced in size in crushers The crushed The limestone, nized raw The raw The molten cement with around 5 % of gypsum
regions immediately around our plants and asso- by compression or impact. raw material is clay and alter- materials are material is clinker is rapidly and other alternative
ciated quarries. Quarry transported to native raw milled and preheated cooled. cementitious materials Logistics
Limestone and other raw the cement materials are dried in a mill. before entry Kiln Clinker silo such as slag or fly ash to Cement is
■ We have been engaged in social responsibility materials are extracted plant, mainly mixed and into the kiln. At flame temperatures up to 2,000° C Cooled clinker is stored form the final cement transported
activities throughout our history. Our intention is using drilling and blasting using conveyors homogenized. and materials temperatures up to in preparation for grind- types. in bags or
to bring together and share the experience that techniques. or rail wagons. Dust filter 1,450° C the raw materials are trans- ing on site or transport as a bulk
has been built up in individual companies, partic- Baghouse filters or electrostatic formed into clinker minerals. to other sites. powder.
ularly in community involvement and health and precipitators remove particles
safety, and to develop Group guidelines and busi- from kiln and mill exhaust gases.
ness standards where appropriate.
Reducing impacts
■ We are committed to working with all our
stakeholders, building and maintaining relation- Quarrying activities have impacts on the local landscape and ecology Clinker production requires intensive use of raw Dust, NOx, SO2 and VOC emissions are subject to Use of secondary cementitious materials reduces the amount of clinker
ships of mutual respect and trust. and can cause noise and traffic problems for local communities. materials and energy, and also results in emissions to the continuous monitoring under a new Holcim standard. required per tonne of cement. This reduces our CO2 emissions per tonne of
Group: Cementos Boyacá, Egyptian Cement Com- Alsons Cement,
Cement plant Colombia, has estab- pany gained a better Philippines, carries Holcim has established a number of systems to manage our quarries atmosphere, the most significant being CO2. Holcim is Heat recovered from the kiln and clinker cooler is cement and our consumption of natural raw materials.
Grinding station lished a school understanding of local out a wide range of
■ Our Group-wide corporate social responsibility responsibly. These systems help to minimize noise, transport and visual reducing its demand for natural resources and its CO2 recycled for preheating the raw meal, reducing Distribution is via the most cost-effective method to market – 70 % is by
Important terminal center to provide stakeholder concerns community projects
(CSR) approach, including CSR policy, CSR hand- Affiliate: secondary education through hosting a WBCSD in collaboration with impact, to reduce the use of natural resources and to optimize quarry emissions per tonne of product by replacing fossil fuels thermal energy consumption. road, the remainder by rail and ship. Transport by road can be a source of
Cement plant and agricultural train- stakeholder dialogue partner organiza-
book and OH&S handbook, will be launched in rehabilitation. and raw materials with waste and industrial by-products. nuisance and traffic safety risk, which we aim to limit.
Grinding station ing to local children event (see page 13). tions (see page 34).
2003. Important terminal (see page 34).