AfriSam shrunk carbon footprint
March 7th, 2011
AfriSam Eco Cement, launched in May 2010, has a carbon dioxide (CO2) rating of 453g per kg of cement, compared to the world average of CO2 890g /kg of cement.
Carbon footprinting had reduced even while cement production rose. Now the manufacturer is working on several initiatives to continually reduce its overall CO2 emissions, and improve environmental impacts measurement and reporting.
The global need to reduce CO2 production, offers some immediate cleaner production and cost saving benefits, while supporting long term sustainability. The company views the set of initiatives as ‘value driven innovation’.
AfriSam produces 4-m tons of cement per year from operations in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Tanzania.
It also produces over 1.8-m tons of readymix concrete per year from 40 plants, and 10-m tons per year of aggregate from 16 quarries. The company provides a livelihood for 3000 people.
Already in 2000, recognising that cement manufacturing is one of the highest emitters of carbon dioxide, AfriSam launched Project Green Cement. Within nine years, carbon emissions were reduced by 30%, to an average of 634kg CO2 per ton of cement, despite cement production rising by 50% in the same period.
AfriSam became the first company in the world to introduce a carbon dioxide (CO2) rating system on cement bags, in 2009.
AfriSam Carbon Footprinting programme won the Nedbank Capital Green Mining Environmental Category 2010 award.
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