Lafarge published its fifteenth annual sustainability report; update on the progress towards the company’s Sustainability Ambitions 2020 program

PARIS, 6-5-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — Lafarge has published its fifteenth annual sustainability report, highlighting the acceleration it is making in the field of sustainable development, particularly in tackling the challenges of climate change.

The report covers Lafarge’s social, economic and environmental performance for 2014, including an update on progress towards the company’s Sustainability Ambitions 2020 program.  There is also a specific focus on the company’s approach to climate change and energy, recognizing the importance of this issue to the business and in preparing for December’s COP21 meeting in Paris, which will bring together governments from around the world to agree upon solutions to combat global warming.

This focus demonstrates how Lafarge is transforming its approach to tackle the challenges of climate change.  This transformation includes developing new solutions that improve the energy efficiency of buildings, to enable more durable cities to be built, and innovating new lower-carbon products as well as deploying actions to reduce its own footprint and promoting responsible energy and climate change policies.

The report also addresses a number of other ‘material issues’ for the business, identified by the Lafarge Sustainability Compass.  The Compass is a unique methodology developed by Lafarge and Accenture for ensuring sustainable development actions are fully integrated within the business, taking into account the priorities of stakeholders as well as those of the company.

Lafarge’s Chairman and CEO Bruno Lafont said:

“This report captures the acceleration Lafarge is making across the board, thanks to its comprehensive sustainable development program.  This is particularly true for climate change, where the entire life cycle of our materials, from production to their use, is taken into account in our actions.  We are working on solutions that both reduce the impact of our industrial sites and meet societal challenges, such as building better cities.

“This work cannot be undertaken alone.  We are working with other members of the construction value chain, particularly in reducing the environmental footprint of buildings, which account for around one-third of worldwide carbon emissions.  In meeting these challenges and leading the way for the rest of our sector, we are making significant progress towards our stated ambition to make a net positive contribution to society and nature.”

The 2014 Sustainability Report follows GRI G4 best-in-class reporting standards and was audited by Bureau Veritas.   As has been the case since the first report, 15 years ago, Lafarge’s performance and report is assessed by a panel of external experts, with their assessment included in the report.

To order a copy of the report, please go to: http://www.lafarge.com/en/orders

For full report (pdf) download go to: http://www.lafarge.com/en/sustainability-report

Notes to editors

Areas of performance highlighted in the sustainability report include:

Climate change and energy

• By the end of 2014, CO2 emissions per ton of cement by had reduced by 26.4% (compared to 1990 levels), which equates to around 2 million tons of CO2 avoided in 2014 alone.
• Progress on the development of innovative, lower-carbon products, including new generation Aether™ cements, whose carbon footprint is 25-30% lower thanks to adapted production techniques.

Managing environmental footprint

• Sales of concrete containing recycled aggregates has tripled in the last 12 months (from a low base)
• Lafarge has restored more than 8,500 hectares of land in last 6 years (based on 680 active quarries, representing over 50,000 hectares
• More effective  management means Lafarge’s consumption has reduced by 14% in the last four years and water withdrawal has reduced by 10% in last two years (both per ton of cement)
• The use of alternative fuel has doubled in the last four years with 39% of content derived from biomass sources
• The speed of reduction on dust emissions has doubled in last two years (representing a 32% reduction on 2010 levels)
• Emissions of oxides of nitrogen have reduced by nearly a third since 2005
• Emissions of SOx (oxides of sulphur) have reduced by 73% since 2005

Creating value for stakeholders

• The lost-time incident frequency rate (LTIFR) for employees and contractors has reduced by 42% in the last 4 years to reach a rate of 0.49, one of the lowest in the sector
• Developing health program, with risk-based health assessments undertaken by 84% of countries with more than 10,000 air and noise samples taken at sites around the world
• 300,000 people have benefitted from Lafarge’s Affordable Housing program, across 18 countries
• 118,000 volunteering hours were recorded in 2014, across 30 countries, involving more than 10,000 employees helping over 900 different programs
• Over 2,500 programs were developed with communities during the year, 71% of which were focused in key areas such as education & skills, job creation, biodiversity, water and affordable housing
• The number of females in senior management positions has more than doubled in the past 10 years to reach 19%
• 25% of our overall spend of €9bn (600 suppliers) have been independently assessed on their sustainability performance

ABOUT LAFARGE
A world leader in building materials, Lafarge employs 63,000 people in 61 countries, and posted sales of €12.8 billion in 2014. As a top-ranking player in its Cement, Aggregates and Concrete businesses, it contributes to the construction of cities around the world, through its innovative solutions providing them with more housing and making them more compact, more durable, more beautiful, and better connected. With the world’s leading building materials research facility, Lafarge places innovation at the heart of its priorities in order to contribute to more sustainable construction and to better serve architectural creativity.

CONTACTS
PRESS RELATIONS
Lafarge.press@lafarge.com
Christel des Royeries: +33 (0)1 44 34 19 47
Sabine Wacquez: +33 (0)1 44 34 96 83
Elodie Woillez: +33 (0)1 44 34 11 70

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Chris Ettery: +33 (0)1 44 34 95 65