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In 1999, ten leading cement companies – representing one-third of the world’s cement production – embarked on the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), a member-sponsored program of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Besides Italcementi Group, the other partecipants in the initiative were Cemex Cimpor, Corporacion Uniland, Heidelberger Cement, Holcim, Lafarge, RMC, Taiheiyo Cement and Titan Cement.
The objective was to find new ways to meet the sustainability challenge of:
- reducing the industry’s ecological footprint
- increasing stakeholder engagement
- understanding the industry's social contributions.
Under the auspices of the WBCSD, the working group commissioned the Battelle Memorial Institute, a US-based not-for-profit consulting firm, to conduct independent research into how the cement industry can meet these sustainability challenges. Battelle’s final report, Toward a Sustainable Cement Industry, was released in April 2002.
The report listed 8 major topics that will shape the cement industry’s path toward a more sustainable future in the next 20 years:
- resource productivity: improving eco-efficiency through improved practices in quarrying, energy use and waste recovery and reuse
- climate protection: understanding and managing CO2 emissions
- emission reduction: reducing dust from quarrying, NOX, SOX, and other airborne pollutants from cement manufacture
- ecological stewardship: improving land use and landscape management practices
- employee well-being: managing and improving employee health, safety, and satisfaction
- community well-being: working more effectively with local communities
- regional development: participating in regional affairs
- shareholder value: creating more value for shareholders.
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