HeidelbergCement has published its eighth Sustainability Report. The Sustainability Report 2016 was prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative and summarises important topics and challenges for HeidelbergCement in its drive for sustainable development.
The report focuses on targets, measures and achievements of the company’s sustainability management.
Successes in occupational safety and climate protection
The health and safety of its employees is central to the HeidelbergCement Sustainability Ambitions. In 2016, HeidelbergCement was able to reduce the accident frequency rate as well as the severity rate.
“HeidelbergCement will continue to invest in trainings and awareness campaigns for occuprational safety in order to reduce accidents to a minimum. Moreover, we will give the adherence to Group-wide safety standards highest priority,” said Bernd Scheifele, chief executive, HeidelbergCement.
Climate protection and the reduction of CO2 emissions remained another focus of our sustainability management in 2016. For instance, specific net carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 22.6% (compared to 1990 levels) to 598kg per tonne of cement.
This was partly due to a significant increase of the use of alternative fuels at a number of plants throughout the Group. For example, the Gorazdze cement plant in Poland achieved an alternative fuel rate of 70%. “The numbers show that HeidelbergCement made progress in 2016,” Scheifele said.
“We aim to further decrease our CO2 emissions. Therefore, we are conducting intensive research in future-oriented technologies to use CO2 as a resource,” he said.
Sustainable supplier management
At HeidelbergCement, corporate responsibility for the environment and society is not limited to our own production processes, but also encompasses the supply chain. Group-wide procurement guidelines therefore provide clear instructions regarding supplier relationships and procurement activities. In 2016, HeidelbergCement made significant progress regarding the systematic management and assessment of its suppliers. An online platform, that has already been introduced in several countries, will simplify the systematic recording and consolidation of supplier data as well as its assessment in accordance with selected sustainability aspects.
