Lafarge Africa Plc, the Nigerian operations of the world’s leading Swiss building materials multinational, Lafarge-Holcim, recently committed a total of 5.3MCHF to change its current Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) to baghouse in its Ewekoro plant. This entails making significant adjustments including the shutting down of its kilns for at least 6 months to make this improvement.
Khaled El- Dokani, the CEO of Lafarge Africa Plc remarked, “At Lafarge Africa Plc, sustainability is at the core of our strategy and it transcends all that we 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.”
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The Lafarge CEO explained that this investment underscores the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability, adding that “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.
Lafarge is also 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 the 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.
At the Global level, Lafargeholcim is committed to building a world that is greener, smarter and works for all.
Impacting communities in Ewekoro
More than 16,000 people have been impacted so far by social investment programmes by Lafarge Africa’s at Ewekoro. Several initiatives directed towards health and safety, education, rural electrification, infrastructure and environmental sustainability across several communities have been executed. Some of the initiatives include a 14- bed healthcare centre and supplied medical equipment at Olujobi community, a 1.5 kilometre reinforced concrete road and drainage in Alagutan, a 4- kilometre long pipe-borne water supply installed at Elebute, a transformer base for electrification at Okeoko Sekoni and several bursary awards granted to students from the communities who are currently studying in tertiary institutions in Nigeria among others.
