Lafarge cement, part of Lafarge Global group had won the Eco efficency award in annual Business in the Community’s Awards for Excellence for the range of initiatives it used to cut harmful emissions, fossil fuel consumption and waste emitted during manufacture of cement.
The cement industry is a major source of Carbondioxide emission accounting for five percent of total man made emissions.For every tonne of cement produced around 800 kgs of carbondioxide is released as a by-product.
The award ceremony was held in london. The awards were presented by Prince Charles and Mr.AlGore former US Vice President.By developing new processes Lafarge reduced landfills by 600,000 tonnes annually and the use of natural raw materials by 4 percent per tonnee produced.Adding waste materials to packed cement had also lessened carbondioxide emission by 180,000 tonnes per year.
The company managed to reduce this emission because of the use of fuels like sewage pellets and meat and bone meal, which fall into category of carbon-neutral because any carbon emission has already been accounted for.
The company also mixed materials which show cement like qualities with cement to reduce the carbondioxide created per tonne of cement.Lafarge cement also enered into a joint venture with ScottishPower, ScotAsh and combined 500,000 tonnes of cement with 350,000 tonnes of PFA (coal ash from the power generation process) and its product has been used in construction of building all over Scotland including the famous Kincardine Bridge.Over the last three years ScotAsh has also saved 120Kt of CO2 and 1.6m tonnes of ash which would have been sent to landfill otherwise.
In his sppech the prince of Wales called for halting desctruction to world’s rainforests. said
Deforestation was responsible for at least 18 per cent, and perhaps as much as 25 per cent, of global greenhouse gas emissions – second only to energy. Developing nations, who may suffer most from climate change and, consequently, unheard of levels of poverty, are now calling on us for help. One way we can do so is to find an ingenious, innovative way of paying for the ecosystem services provided by the world’s great forests. The trouble is that we need to do it very fast indeed.
Climate change means that their survival and ours is surely now more closely linked than ever before. Can we stiffen the sinews and conjure up the blood in time?
It would be a great prize and an act of corporate social responsibility that would literally transform the situation for our children and grandchildren. While others argue, the world of business could put its best brains together to produce a workable solution.
Among other winners were Sky which won the Man Group International Climate Change Award , for its innovative approach od addressing climate change and Barclays which won EDF Energy Environmental Leadership Award for integerating enviormental statergy into core business.
Via:Telegraph
