With 2021 recognised as a critical year for biodiversity and the natural world and the connections between biodiversity and climate change widely recognised, the cement and concrete industry is reiterating its commitment to improving biodiversity throughout the lifespan of its operations. Concrete also continues to be vital in supporting global infrastructure and a sustainable global economic recovery.
Claude Loréa, Cement director, GCCA, said: "Protecting and enhancing biodiversity is critical for the future of our planet. While the cement and aggregate industry can have an impact on nature through the extraction of raw materials from the earth, our member companies have a great record in minimising the impact of their operations – restoring and often improving the balance of nature in the land that they manage.
"Working towards net positive impact throughout their operations will underpin the great work that is already underway. We already have detailed guidelines for member companies to follow, and our new policy outlines our commitment to building the sustainable world of tomorrow."
The new GCCA biodiversity policy follows last year's launch of the GGCA's Climate Ambition to reduce the CO2 footprint of member company operations and produce carbon-neutral concrete by 2050 in line with global climate goals.
The biodiversity policy outlines four specific actions to ensure ecosystems can flourish:
- Formulating and executing effective and progressive quarry rehabilitation and biodiversity management plans.
- Tracking, monitoring, reporting, and establishing assurance of information through Key Performance Indicators.
- Highlighting concrete's strong sustainability characteristics, such as high versatility, which enables material efficiency aligned with nature-based solution initiatives.
- Working in partnership to scale up efforts, building close ties with civil society organisations.
A new animated video explaining the industry's role in enhancing biodiversity has also been created and can be found at https://youtu.be/LVW1CgzDDWE
