Reducing Emissions and Benefitting the Environment

Lafarge Shui On Cement is actively reducing the environmental footprint of its cement production and contributing to social development in China. One of the company’s first steps has been to close down 38 high-energy consumption, obsolete vertical kilns and wet kiln production lines. To do so, it invested some US$ 900 million in technology upgrades and in new dry lines from 2005-2009.

Dust, NOx and SO2 emissions have been cut by 90%, 49% and 78% respectively per metric ton of clinker produced in the cement plants, and CO2 emissions have been reduced by 29% per metric ton of cement produced between 1990 and 2009. Lafarge Shui On Cement is continuing to explore further low-carbon energy solutions, including projects focusing on sludge usage, soil remediation and quarry rehabilitation.

In local communities throughout China, Lafarge Shui On Cement is actively engaging its stakeholders, sharing its experiences and providing the general public with a safe, comfortable and high-quality living environment. During a June 2009 CEO roundtable for the country’s leading cement companies organized by Lafarge Group and the China Cement Association, all participating cement companies signed a sustainable development declaration, the first common plan and commitment to sustainable development shared by China’s top cement enterprises.

As another major achievement of this meeting, five top Chinese cement companies joined the Cement Sustainable Initiative (CSI). It has been regarded as a milestone in China’s cement history as they are the first Chinese cement companies to join.

In September 2009, Lafarge Shui On Cement signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government to accelerate the city’s sustainable development. This strategic partnership covers all of Lafarge’s business operations in China, from cement to ready-mixed concrete to aggregates and plasterboard. Lafarge has already operated several successful modules in the city, including a waste heat recovery project, a sludge usage project, soil remediation via sustainable cement kiln practices, and a project centered on the use of flue gas desulfurization gypsum (a waste material produced through the desulfurization of flue gases in power stations and heating plants in high amounts that has a good potential for application in building structures).

These projects explore new solutions for the harmless treatment and use of local waste and have presented good results. For example, the sludge usage project in Chongqing could help the city treat over 30,000 metric tons of sludge per year, which not only reduces the amounts of sludge occupying land, but also precludes the need for investment in incineration, and significantly reduces coal consumption, dioxin pollution and CO2 emissions.

This article was first published in the November 2010 edition of Sustain magazine by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Enabling a Low-carbon Expo 2010 in Shanghai

Large-scale events are often a catalyst for sustainable urban development, improved infrastructure and increased investment. There is no better example than Expo 2010 in Shanghai. For the first time in the Expo’s history, the Shanghai edition was low-carbon, applying successful experiences in city development by using innovative "green" technologies in areas including building, transportation, energy supply and waste treatment. Sustainable companies like Siemens are a major driver behind this improvement.

Siemens is supplying more than 1 billion Euros worth of infrastructure for both the Expo and Shanghai. More than 40 Expo projects were built using Siemens technologies that improve energy efficiency without reducing quality or comfort. For example, Siemens technologies powered the "China Red" of the China Pavilion, not only creating a marvelous impression, but also reducing energy consumption by 50%. The Expo’s five permanent constructions featured the latest in Siemens building technology, thereby reducing energy consumption by 25% compared with conventional buildings. To ensure continuous and efficient power supply, especially during the peak summer season, Siemens installed energy-saving power distribution equipment.

In the "We Are the World" Pavilion, Siemens partnered with the Expo Bureau to bring visitors a vision of life in a low-carbon future. Visitors experienced innovative technologies, such as a facial recognition system used for easy home access, e-cars enabled by smart grids, a virtual workshop that helps achieve work-life balance, a tailored menu proposed by an intelligent home refrigerator, and remote diagnostic technologies showing easy healthcare solutions, just to name a few. Most of the technologies displayed are in the company’s R&D pipeline or are prototype applications.

About 90% of the total Expo-relevant business related to environmentally friendly products and solutions that aim to upgrade city infrastructure while bringing down carbon emissions. A highly efficient power plant using Siemens technology covers 30% of Shanghai’s energy demand, but uses more than 1 million tons less coal per year. One hundred environmentally friendly highspeed trains that use key Siemens components will ultimately transport passengers from Beijing to Shanghai in less than five hours. The terminal of the high-speed line in Shanghai serves as part of the Hongqiao Transportation Hub, where Siemens installed China’s largest parking management system.

By 2018, Siemens will supply infrastructure to more than 20 other major event host cities worldwide, including infrastructure for stable power grids, public mass transit and healthcare. Along with creating and preserving jobs, those projects will also improve visitors’ experiences and the quality of life in the cities in which they take place.

Article originally published in the November 2010 edition of Sustain, the magazine of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.