CEMEX Building Products Business Reduces Plastic Packaging With Future In Action Programme

CEMEX’s key building products plant at Northfleet in Kent has made significant inroads over the last 12 months. This follows on from the recent launch of ReadyBlock Zero, the UK’s first zero carbon concrete block, as CEMEX’s Urbanisation Solutions business continues to improve the sustainability of its operations in line with the company’s global Future In Action strategy, which is committed to Net Zero CO2 in concrete by 2050.

Production equipment at Northfleet has been upgraded through a £100k CapEx investment to enable increased supply and ongoing maintenance.  The new high-strength banding process means that plastic hoods are no longer required on dense and lightweight bricks and concrete blocks. As a result, Northfleet has eradicated 6.1 tonnes of plastic, or the equivalent of over 65,000 plastic water bottles, per year from its traditional plastic packaging process. 

In addition to plastic reduction, Northfleet is continuing to make environmental savings in timber by increasing the volume of void packs which reduces the volume of  timber palleted products.  Over 100 tonnes of timber – roughly the equivalent of 100 ten foot high oak trees – was saved in 2021 and it is expected this figure will increase further in 2022. The programme is further supported by CEMEX’s pallet recovery scheme which works with merchants and distributors to recycle and reduce timber waste across the supply chain to make greater environmental efficiencies. 

Damien Allen, Business Manager, Building Products UK, CEMEX, comments: “We have been pushing a more sustainable approach to our packaging in Concrete Products.  At our Northfleet plant, our results so far are very encouraging. We expect our usage of plastic and timber to reduce further dramatically in 2022 due to the upgraded process.” 

“Our  equipment meets the highest quality requirements. It is extremely reliable, requires little maintenance, and is highly energy-efficient as well. We are looking at lots of different options to continuously improve our packaging, without compromising product quality. This includes a constant watching eye on recycled materials and our approach to repair and re-use across the plant, in line with the circular economy mindset.” 

CEMEX’s Climate Action strategy aims to lead the way in the construction industry and has an overall global ambition of delivering net zero carbon emissions in concrete by 2050. CEMEX Urbanisation Solutions is constantly innovating to provide customers with a broad range of sustainable solutions for the challenges of urbanisation, with a central focus at all times on the Future In Action strategy - committed to Net Zero CO2.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors: 

CEMEX announced its Climate Action strategy; ‘Future in Action – Committed to Net Zero CO2’ in February 2020, and as part of this, by 2030 it plans:
•    To be below 475kg of CO2 per ton of cementitious material, equivalent to a 40% reduction*
•    To reduce the carbon content per cubic meter of concrete to 165kg, equivalent to a 35% reduction*
•    To reach 55% in clean energy consumption

* According to our 1990 baseline

About CEMEX:
CEMEX is a global construction materials company that is building a better future through sustainable products and solutions. CEMEX is committed to achieving carbon neutrality through relentless innovation and industry-leading research and development. CEMEX is at the forefront of the circular economy in the construction value chain and is pioneering ways to increase the use of waste and residues as alternative raw materials and fuels in its operations with the use of new technologies. 
CEMEX offers cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, and urbanization solutions in growing markets around the world, powered by a multinational workforce focused on providing a superior customer experience, enabled by digital technologies. For more information please visit: www.cemex.com 

CEMEX R&D, Innovation and Business Development projects are part of the global R&D collaboration network, headed by CEMEX Research Centers, based in Switzerland
For media enquiries please contact Sarah Murphy; email: sarah.murphy@cemex.com  
m. 07557 319972.