The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded it's ENERGY STAR® certification to the plants of Chattanooga, TN; Festus, MO; Maryneal, TX and San Antonio, TX. This marks the ninth consecutive year the Chattanooga, Festus, and Maryneal plants have received certification, and the fourth consecutive year for the San Antonio plant. In order to qualify for ENERGY STAR recognition, cement plants must score at least 75 on the Energy Performance Indicator (EPI), used by the EPA to measure the energy efficiency of a facility.  In addition, the plant must have a satisfactory environmental compliance record for the past 3 years.  Receipt of the ENERGY STAR certification means these four plants perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide.
The ENERGY STAR program focuses on strategic energy management and emphasizes the importance of demonstrating environmental leadership for future generations.

RemTech Expo is the most specialized trade fair in Italy dedicated to the prevention and management of environmental and natural risks and territory remediation and requalification.
Besides the highly accredited exhibition area, the event also includes a high-level technical-scientific conference session and training courses for operators, authorities and decision- makers.
Buzzi Unicem participated in the 11th edition of RemTech Expo with its Solidur mixes, which have been specifically designed for the reclamation of contaminated sites.  Our company is leader in this sector in Italy, having carried out almost 100 projects over a 15-year period involving reclamations, the requalification of contaminated sites, and waterproofing in hydraulic construction.
Once again this year, Buzzi Unicem had good opportunities for meetings and discussions with designers, operators and journalists in the sector.
During the event, Mauro Ganora, our Sales and Special Product Manager, gave a video interview about the Solidur product line with the online ingenio journal.

Interview with Mauro Ganora

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first cement plant in Indiana, now owned by Buzzi Unicem USA, Greencastle employees contributed to a number of different projects during the World Earth Day festivities.
As testimony to its continued collaboration with local associations (the local Rotary Club, the Committee for the Sustainable Development of Greencastle and the National Road Heritage Trail), in honor of the Earth Day 2017 event the cement plant undertook to clean the 231S highway in Indiana, build a playground in Micaela Cancilla Park, and clear a new section of the nature trail in Putnam County, situated around the perimeter of the Greencastle Plant and recently acquired by the National Road Heritage Trail.
The Greencastle plant has been actively participating in the World Earth Day celebrations since 1999, collaborating on environmental projects on behalf of the local community.

The project to modernize the Maryneal plant in Texas (MN32: Maryneal 3,200 tons/day of clinker) was officially presented to Buzzi Unicem management, local authorities and plant employees at the end of February.  During the event, it became clear to the guests just how modern this plant is and its role as one of the leading cement suppliers in western and central Texas as well as for the oil and gas industry.

The design, engineering and construction work performed in the cement plant over the last two years have involved the raw materials department, the raw meal grinding with a new Horomill 3800 mill, the coal mill, the new kiln line with preheater tower and a 56 m long kiln with 4.4 m diameter, the new control room, the laboratory, the final grinding department with its feeding and cement transport system, the shipping department, including the extension of the rail spur.
Notwithstanding the complex and compelling challenges, the cement plant employees and other collaborators involved in the project were able to increase the plant's sustainability with a significant reduction in emissions, energy, water and fuel consumption, while at the same time increasing the clinker production capacity from about 450,000 to over 1 million tons per year.

The special product ZAPA DROP was the most innovative material presented at the International Building Fair of Brno (Moravia), which took place on 26-29 April.

This new concrete can be used mainly for outdoor architecture and garden design, such as the construction of swimming pool curbs, terraces, paths, roads, parking areas, bicycle paths, etc.
ZAPA DROP has excellent drainage and loadbearing properties and may represent a cheaper alternative to self-locking concrete blocks.
More information on this product is available at the following link: www.zapa.cz/special-products/c/special-products/i/zapa-drop?l=eng

Buzzi Unicem compie 110 anni e l’azienda ha pensato di ricordare questo importante traguardo apportando al logotipo una variazione grafica, ideata appositamente per la ricorrenza.
In particolare, sotto al nome del gruppo è stata inserita la scritta “110 YEARS”, realizzata con il carattere Catamaran light, pulito e di facile lettura.

Nel corso del 2017, il logo del centodecimo anno sarà riportato su tutte le pubblicazioni istituzionali, quali i bilanci (civilistico, consolidato e di sostenibilità), la rivista aziendale Portland ed eventuali altri documenti e presentazioni.

The Sustainability Report 2016 is published in the Sustainability pages of our web site in view of the Annual Shareholders' Meeting, held on May 12th 2017.

The report, with a brand new graphic lay out, discloses the social, environmental and economic indicators of the company reported according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines.

The report, drawn up and printed in two languages (Italian and English), presents, in the Italian version, a focus on Italian data.

Sustainability Report 2016

Over the last ten years, the Stockertown Plant has reached out to school groups and various organizations to show that the mining industry can co-exist, in a beneficial way, with surrounding ecosystems and communities.
Most recently, Stockertown has transformed approximately 65 acres of land, previously leased to local farmers, into a sustainability-enhancing area for the adjacent streams and forest. 
For these efforts the Stockertown Plant has attained: Portland Cement Association Energy & Environmental “Outreach Award” in 2011; 5 Wildlife Habitat Council Certifications for both “Wildlife at Work” and “Corporate Lands for Learning” from 2012 to present; the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – “Forest Stewardship Award” from 2012 to present; and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council “Environmental Partnership Award” in 2016.

Besides restoring local habitats and ecosystems, Stockertown has also developed a project to cultivate miscanthus giganteus, a plant typically grown in North America for biomass production, that can also be used as alternative fuel for the production of clinker.
By growing miscanthus and using it as an alternative to fossil fuels, the cement plant is helping to support the "earth-water-air cycle" by creating a closed loop system for the absorption of "carbon".  Although the project is still in an embryonic stage, Stockertown is considering expanding this type of cultivation. Miscanthus could provide up to 40% of the fuel required to operate the kiln, making a significant contribution to achieving the goal of replacing 60% of energy needs with alternative sources.

Dyckerhoff Basal has installed two mobile, concrete production plants on an artificial island at the entrance to the port of Amsterdam.
The plants will provide a total of approximately 300,000 m3 of concrete for the construction of a new lock that will allow larger ships to access the city’s port.
Daily production is around 1,600 m3, with peaks of 200 m3/hour, while the cement comes from plants in Neuss and Neuwied.
The new lock will be 500 m long, 70 m wide and 18 m deep, and upon completion will be the largest in the world.
Begun in 2016, construction will complete in late 2019.

The KOVV project (Kvalita a Obchod Věcí Všech – Quality and Sales are the Responsibility of Everyone) was launched by ZAPA beton in 2015 and will conclude by the end of March 2017. The KOVV project has allowed ZAPA to improve the quality of its products and services, and create a unique communications plan for the ZAPA group. The principles of this successful project will be applied to other future company activities.

The new NEMO project (New Evolved Materials for InnOvation), aimed at increasing the sales and marketing of special products, was kicked off on 1 January 2017. 
The new project follows the philosophy of the parent Buzzi Unicem, which supports the high level of quality of products and the constant creation of added value through innovative know-how.

On 26 January, our associate Corporación Moctezuma officially inaugurated a second production line at the Apazapan cement plant, with the Governor from the state of Veracruz, Mr. Miguel Ángel Yunes, in attendance. The event was also attended by the municipal presidents of Apazapan and Emiliano Zapata, several deputies from the state of Veracruz, members of the local government, the Italian ambassador to Mexico, and a number of customers, suppliers and collaborators. Unfortunately, the Spanish ambassador was not able to attend.

The addition of the second production line now brings the production capacity of the Apazapan cement plant to 2.75 million tons/year of cement.

Video of the inauguration: https://mobile.twitter.com/YoconYunes/status/824731421415727104/video/1

In late 2016, the Federal President Joachim Gauck presented the Technical and Innovation Award to Carbonbeton during the German Sustainability Award ceremony.
Carbonbeton concrete uses carbon fibers instead of the traditional iron reinforcement and was developed as part of the C³ Carbon Concrete Composite project. Approximately 140 partners from science, economics and associations,  including Dyckerhoff, participated in the C³ project.

The goal of the project is to create binders and high-strength concrete by optimizing the adhesion capability of the carbon fiber reinforcement to the cement matrix. Compared to the concrete that is currently marketed, this new, high-performance C³ concrete will offer a very high degree of durability and a much improved energy and CO₂ balance. Buildings and structural elements made with C³ will be noteworthy for the high mechanical performance, very long duration and lower environmental impact.

Buzzi Unicem USA recently announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded some of its U.S. cement manufacturing plants the ENERGY STAR® label for their superior energy performance.  Buzzi’s plants in Chattanooga, TN; Festus, MO;  Maryneal, TX  and San Antonio TX received the honor.  This marks the eighth consecutive year the Chattanooga, Festus, and Maryneal plants have received certification.
In order to qualify for ENERGY STAR recognition, cement plants must score at least 75 on the Energy Performance Indicator (EPI), used by the EPA to measure energy efficiency.  In addition, the plant must have a three-year history of environmental compliance.
The ENERGY STAR program focuses on strategic energy management and emphasizes the importance of demonstrating environmental leadership for future generations.