Well done, Lafarge

Indeed, environmental protection at corporate level must be a voluntary act of social justice. Most of Zimbabwe’s firms in mining, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and service industries are still missing in action where it concerns the green revolution.
Yet, the greatest environmental damage, land degradation and pollution emanates from these same entities. Profits are important, but risk becoming “blood profits” when persistently extracted from a rapidly burning environment, which leaves communities poorer. Zimbabwe needs businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible, whose approach to operations is defined and guided by the three pillars of sustainable development — people, planet and profit.
Lafarge certified “environmentally responsible”
Last week Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe was certified an environmentally responsible firm or at least one keen on limiting and controlling its operations from damaging the environment beyond redemption. Lafarge is not a leader in this respect, not one worth comparing with the likes of, say, Nyaradzo Funeral Group, but the cement maker is making crucial and essential leads towards eliminating pollution, achieving sustainable development and driving green growth.
These are leads that others, mostly its peers in the extractive sector, known for poor environmental practices must now start pursuing with unfettered attention. Lafarge has committed to greening the economy through efforts of emissions reduction, waste management, managing the carbon footprint and biodiversity management.
The ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System certification covers the group’s entire operations and activities that include quarrying, cement manufacturing, production of cement and lime-based products, product distribution and support services. Lafarge performance improvement manager Mr Edson Chakanyuka said Lafarge launched its own environmental policy in April last year resulting in the full establishment of a formal and documented system to manage the environmental aspects and impacts of the company’s activities. He said the group had adopted a new approach to cement manufacturing that contributes to sustainable development, which includes the establishment of a documented environmental management system, as well as applying “dust abatement measures”.
Subsequently, Lafarge’s dust emissions had reduced to 80mg/m3, which is much lower than the legal maximum limit of 120mg/m3. The company has also managed to regulate its effluent and enclosing bulk material storage areas. Through prudent waste management practices, Lafarge now uses 25 percent of waste from other industries as raw material feed to the process.
“In terms of minimising the amount of hazardous and other wastes that we generate, we ensure that we reuse and recycle materials where feasible. In terms of disposal, we ensure that safe and responsible methods are utilised,” Mr Chakanyuka said at the certification ceremony in Harare last week.
Carbon emissions have been reduced through tracking and use of alternative fuels while the latest technology is being utilised in limestone mining to limit vibration, dust and noise emissions.  “We are committed to the protection of the environment, human health and well- being, to the mitigation of climate change and the conservation of nature. Our objective remains to ensure the continued improvement of our environmental performance and demonstrate that we are playing our part in greening the economy,” he said. 
The cement industry the world over is one of the first industries to tackle climate change by developing policies and improving manufacturing processes that benefit the global environment. At this global level since 1975, the cement industry has reduced its energy usage in manufacturing by 33 percent.
Everyone must play a role in greening the economy
Addressing delegates at the Lafarge certification ceremony,  Environment and Natural Resources Minister Francis Nhema said in view of the serious environmental challenges being faced in both rural and urban communities, it was “important to determine the role that each one of us can play in greening the economy”. He said a lot of Zimbabwean companies across different sectors had continued facing challenges in maintaining environmental management systems due to a number of factors.
Unfortunately, environmental degradation will continue to take place as long as the people do not apply good practices for environmental management. “Poor efforts in environmental stewardship simply compromise the ability of future generations to have a decent life with access to all the resources that they require, which we the present generations are depleting,” Minister Nhema explained.
“The commitment to sustainable development . . . will not only contribute to the local community and economy, but also reveals a longstanding commitment to environmental stewardship.” 
Minister Nhema said Government was playing a key role in promoting environmental management for the benefit of current and future generations. He said the Environment Ministry had worked hard to ratify a number of international agreements and protocols that promote environmental management in industry. The ministry was also continuing in the provision of a policy framework for improved environmental performance by industry resulting in the National Environmental Policy in 2009.
He said it was critical that industry started action that fed into the national policy goal, as demonstrated by Lafarge. The goals of the NEP include avoiding irreversible environmental damage, maintaining essential environmental processes and preserving the spectrum of biological diversity so as to sustain the long-term ability of natural resources to meet the basic needs of people and improve the standard of living of Zimbabweans through long-term economic growth and the creation of employment. “This goal places the environment at the heart of development in Zimbabwe . . . together we can make a difference in safeguarding our environment and indeed prepare well for our common future, our children and more generations to come,” said Dr Nhema.
The concept of the green economy has gained ground, as an internationally acceptable mode of economic development. Generally, the green economy seeks to eliminate the inefficiencies prevalent in industrial and other economic processes, which prioritise profit at the expense of nature and humanity. The green economy promotes socially and environmentally responsible and sustainable economic development.
God is faithful.
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