HeidelbergCement's sustainability report

674 HeidelbergCement has published a group sustainability report for the fourth time, and the company says that more than ever it focuses on a transparent presentation of the most significant topics relating to sustainability, in order to comply with the latest standards of reporting.

New this year is that a selection of KPIs from the cement business line concerning occupational health & safety and environmental protection have been subjected to an independent auditor’s review.

The company says that in doing so it increases data quality and likewise complies with the obligations of the Cement Sustainability Initiative of the 1148 World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

In 2009 and 2010, HeidelbergCement has accomplished continual improvements in the central pillars of its sustainability strategy, including the promotion of biodiversity in quarries; reduction of CO2 emissions and the use of alternative fuels (the company successfully increased the alternative fuels rate from 18.5% in 2008 to 20.5% in 2010).

The goal for 2020 is to increase the rate to 30%.

Another industry-specific key issue is occupational health & safety where HeidelbergCement made good progress in reducing accident rates. Occupational safety will remain a central topic of HeidelbergCement’s sustainability strategy in the coming years.

“Sustainability is a management responsibility and part of our corporate strategy,” said

Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.

“By means of continuous reporting on our progress we aim at making our business activities transparent and binding, so that all of our stakeholders can clearly see and understand the way in which we operate.”

The target audience of the Sustainability Report is the company’s employees, investors, analysts, customers and business partners, as well as political actors, neighbours and NGOs.

“Responsibility with respect to the needs and interests of these groups is the primary prerequisite for sustainable management. The company philosophy ‘think global – act local’ means that the local management plays a key role in fulfilling HeidelbergCement’s responsibilities. The aim is to minimise the impact of business activities on the local environment, and to utilise the company’s core competencies in such a way as to benefit the local community, as well as to generate lucrative opportunities for business.”