Environmental footprint

 

Lafarge is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its businesses by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saving energy, optimizing management of resources, etc. The objective is to produce more and better while using less.

Challenge #1: reducing our product’s environmental footprint

 

The cement industry generates around 5% of the world's CO2 emissions. In relation to its Cement business, Lafarge is committed to reducing its environmental impact using 3 levers:

  • improving the performance of its kilns,
  • replacing some of the clinker with industrial residues (fly ash and slag) to save energy,
  • a program to replace fuels with alternative fuels (industrial, household or plant waste).

 
Replacing some of the water used in the composition of concretewith granular stacking produces a more compact, resistant, longer lasting concrete which uses less water.

Grading makes it possible to recover almost all materials extracted from quarries. In order to preserve natural resources, the Group favors:

  • the production aggregates by recycling demolition concrete by crushing it,
  • recycling of concretes not used by the plant.

 
Although it is recyclable, plasterboard also needs to address the issue of saving raw materials. The Group is focusing on 2 areas:

  • Adding additives increases the fluidity of the gypsum and reduces the amount of water used. Less water used to produce plasterboard means less energy wasted during drying. Lafarge is working on a real technological breakthrough: removing the use of water in the manufacture of plasterboard.
  • Plasterboard is manufactured from recycled paper or gypsum, materials which can be infinitely recycled.

 

Lafarge glossary

Fly ash, slag, clinker, industrial ecology, CO2, granular stacking, additives, etc. See the glossary for all technical terms.    

Glossary

For energy efficiency

 

Alain Vassal, sustainable construction director, Bouygues Construction:

"The major challenge of sustainable construction is not only the energy efficiency of buildings, it is also the reduction of emissions during the manufacturing of concrete. Bouygues Construction and Lafarge are working on a joint project to develop low-carbon concretes."    

 

Optimized formulation for concretes

Nicolas Roussel, researcher at thePonts et Chaussées central laboratory (LCPC): 
"Scientific modeling is clearing the way for the sustainable and optimized formulation of future concretes. These must be even more effective while also reducing energy costs. Lafarge and LCPCare pooling their expertise and equipment to achieve this."    

Lafarge and LCPC

Our solutions to this challenge

Ductal®: a concrete supple and strong at once

The ductility of Ductal®, a high added-value concrete, gives it exceptional capacities for stretching, extending, bowing and twisting.
Also very resistant to corrosion, abrasion and impacts, Ductal® has a lifespan 2 to 3 times longer than traditional concrete.

La Plura® plasterboard: a new generation of plasterboard

Plasterboard now meets the most diverse technical and aesthetic requirements. Whether painted or tiled, interior or exterior - their characteristics mean they comply with the requirements of sustainable construction:

  • excellent thermal and acoustic insulation,
  • hygrometry regulation
  • high fire resistance,
  • made from recycled materials.

La Plura® demonstrates higher-than-average solidity and mechanical resistance.

Low-carbon cement: technological and ecological

By replacing more and more of the clinker (the basic component of cement which requires physicochemical transformation at high temperatures ) with naturally or industrially sourced cement additives, Lafarge has created a new generation of low-carbon cements reducing the environmental footprint of the Group's products.

Duraclime™: an asphalt coming from the cold

Designed and developed in North America, DuraclimeTM is economical in energy. Its special composition (specific additives and bonding agents) means it can be produced at lower temperatures than traditional asphalt. Less energy is consumed to heat the product. Less greenhouse gases are released and there are no unpleasant fumes.
Another advantage is that the particular viscosity of DuraclimeTM allows a higher proportion of recycled aggregates to be added and makes the roads and sidewalks produced using it exceptionally hard-wearing.

Draining concrete: the concrete which lets water through

The water resistant qualities of concrete are often praised. However, Lafarge has just developed a new draining concrete which retains the mechanical properties of traditional concrete. This innovation was made possible by advances in nanotechnology.
This new concrete is well suited to the construction of large surface areas in an urban environment such as parking lots and storage areas.
It is effective at:

  • absorbing rainwater quickly in the event of heavy rain,
  • reducing the risk of flooding in the area
  • safely channeling the water into the groundwater table.
Thermedia® 0.6 B: a concrete combating heat loss

The formulation of Thermedia® 0.6 B concrete is completely innovative. It is made using very lightweight aggregates, 40% less dense than traditional aggregates. This composition cuts its thermal conductivity by "two-thirds" compared with standard concrete, while retaining identical structural properties to traditional concrete. Thermedia® 0.6 B encourages a reduction in thermal losses through the building's envelope and it contributes to improving construction methods using external thermal insulation.

BUILDING PROGRESS FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET

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As a member of Holcim Group, Lafarge Egypt builds progress for people and the planet. As a leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions in Egypt, Lafarge is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy, Lafarge Egypt, a member of Holcim, is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. The company is driving circular construction as a world leader in recycling to build more with less.

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