Lafarge Earmarks $8m for Environmental Sustainability

Lafarge Africa Plc, the Nigerian operations of Swiss building materials multinational, LafargeHolcim, recently committed a total of $8 million to change its current Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) to bag house in its Ewekoro plant.

This entails making significant adjustments including the shutting down of its kilns for at least six months to make this improvement.

The Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Africa Plc, Khaled El-Dokani, said at Lafarge Africa Plc, sustainability is at the core of their strategy and it transcends all that they do.

“Sustainability is about meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. One of our goals is to pioneer the transformation of the local building materials and construction sector in Nigeria to address important environmental issues, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and our Sustainability ambition pillars of Climate & Energy, Circular Economy, Environment and Communities. Care for the environment and for our host communities is built into all aspects of our operations everywhere in the world,” he said.

The Lafarge Africa CEO explained that this investment underscores the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

“At Lafarge Africa, our sustainability pillars - Climate and Energy, Circular Economy, Environment and Community is the lever for which Lafarge is driving innovative solutions and impact. Our social impact is focused on the areas of the most needs: Education, Empowerment, Health and Safety and Shelter/ Infrastructure. LAP partners with our host communities to develop and implement social interventions in these areas,” he added.

According to him, Lafarge Africa is increasingly using biomass, including oil palm and rice husks, as alternative fuels to power its plants. Currently, a good number of cement plants in Nigeria are powered by coal, gas or low pour fuel oil. However, alternative fuels are considered cleaner, more sustainable, and also help surrounding communities dispose of waste more efficiently. Considering this, alternative fuels currently account for up to 40 percent of fuel used to power Lafarge Africa’s Ewekoro plant and the company plans to have all plants operating on at least 35 percent alternative fuels by 2023.