InterCement supports global movement for sustainability in the cement and concrete industry

Company aims to promote more sustainable construction with partnership with the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA)

In an effort to reinforce its sustainability agenda, InterCement, one of the largest cement companies in Brazil and renowned internationally in the industry, announced its partnership with the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), the primary world association in the cement and concrete industry, responsible for 30% of the production capacity. The objective was to further promote global sustainability and establish monitoring guidelines and reports for its activities in the cement industry.

Companies are voluntarily partnered with GCCA, and they take up public commitments with sustainability and the environment, while also using key indicators of safety, CO2 emission, water, energy, production, among others.

Recently, the entity published its first six sustainability guidelines and the GCCA Sustainability Letter. Many of these guidelines were based on past efforts by Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), whose roles were transferred to the GCCA when it was created in 2018. The new guidelines, available on https://www.gccassociation.org/, include simply, reliable and representative results that all members, including InterCement, should monitor to report on performance. Companies are also audited every four years by GCCA and every two years by an external auditor.

The company’s representative in the GCCA’s Working Group about the Best Practices in Cement will be Alexandre Citvaras. The executive acts as director of Environmental Development and Energy at InterCement, and will be able to directly contribute towards GCCA’s objective and continuous improvements in the industry.

Citvaras says that “this association will be an opportunity for us to contribute towards the future of the activities in the sector, with the participation of work groups focused on discussing challenges to continuously improve practices and processes. Not only do we have the mission to share InterCement’s expertise, we also need to ensure that the company’s stances are considered when making decisions and, of course, bringing new knowledge to our daily operations”.

There are a total of seven work groups in which InterCement will participate:

  • Health and safety in the cement and concrete industry
  • The future of construction and the role of concrete
  • Concrete sustainability
  • Concrete guidelines
  • Cement innovations
  • Best cement practices
  • Communication and Advocacy

Commitment towards sustainability

As a leader in the industry with several projects, InterCement has been investing thoroughly in the past years on co-processing. The procedure aims to adapt the energy matrix so that operations use the energy source with highest availability and, as a result, less costs.

The results lie in environmental productivity gains and the decrease in carbon emissions from factories. Moreover, the company properly disposes of waste and recycles it when manufacturing cement to prevent damages to the environment.

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