WWF, Lafarge team up to reduce cement industry's impact on environment

MANILA, Philippines –  The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has partnered with the Lafarge Group in the Philippines to help minimize the cement industry’s growing ecological footprint.

Under the newly-forged partnership, WWF and Lafarge will conduct in-depth research to analyze the environmental impacts of blended Pozzolan cement over Portland cement which is the current industry standard.

With the hard data on hand, WWF and Lafarge hope to slowly drive a shift from Portland to Pozzolan cement.

WWF-International teamed up with the Lafarge Group in 2000 and since then has worked with the multinational to both increase its operational efficiency and reduce emissions.

By 2009, Lafarge reduced its emissions by 20.7 percent per ton of cement, mostly by shifting to renewable energy sources and by developing a new range of products which use additives and debris from other industries – such as Pozzolan or blended cement.

Dylan Melgazo, project coordinator of WWF-Philippines, said while there are numerous types of cement, “each type of cement caters to different requirements within the construction industry, which range from general use, high early strength, differing levels of sulfate resistances and other specific uses.”

“In the most general sense there is Portland cement and blended cement, both of which are hydraulic cements which are mixed with water. Portland cement is very resource and energy intensive and its production, though quite necessary, takes a heavy toll on the environment. Hence, we are searching for alternatives to Portland cement.”

Blended cement like Pozzolan, Melgazo pointed out, “is usually mixed from materials discarded by other industries, like fly ash (a typical residue of combustion processes and a regular by-product of coal-fired power plants) and pumicite.”

Melgazo said, Pozzolans are mixed with regular Portland cement for a more cost-effective product with a milder environmental impact.

“Aside from the environmental benefits of recycling fly ash and other substances which were supposed to be waste products, few people are aware that Pozzolan cement can also have higher compressive strength over time than most types of Portland cement.”

“Sustainable construction is one of our priorities,” said Lafarge Philippines Communications vice president Cirilo Pestaño.