Lafarge Africa Plc, has restated commitment to the promotion of environmentally sustainable operations across its operations.

The company stated this after investing significant resources to reduce the environmental impact of its operations to the barest minimum by adopting state-of-the-art technology and prioritising the health, as well as safety of its people and host communities.

To achieve this, it has completed the installation of a new bag filter technology at its Ewekoro plant – which is a key milestone in the company’s compliance to Nigerian Regulatory Standards and in line with its sustainability strategy.

To mitigate dust emissions from other sources, such as from roads surrounding its plants, Lafarge has instituted measures to consistently reduce fugitive emissions in all its plants, preserve the local environment and minimise the impact on the neighbouring/host communities. The company also conducts air quality measurement of its plant up to 10 km radius to assure conformance to acceptable limits.

“We continuously upgrade our operating models and strategy through extensive investments in research and innovation. To comply with global standards and contribute to building a safer planet, we successfully replaced our dust emission control device in Ewekoro Plant I, from the Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) to a more modern and effective system, the ‘Bag House’ dust collection system,” according to Head of Health, Safety and Environment, Lafarge Africa Plc, Rachael Ezembakwe.

“We are fully aware of the environmental impact of our operations, particularly on our host communities. As such, we carried out a comprehensive social impact assessment in our Ewekoro plant in the year 2020, resulting in a robust action plan to reduce dust emission. The implementation of the action plan involved changing the ESP used at the plant to a bag house filter, in addition to other significant adjustments to our production activities, over a period of six months. A robust maintenance system was also put in place for the dust control equipment at the Plant.”

Ezembakwe said: “The dust emissions at Ewekoro Plant have since remained below the regulatory limit of 50 milligramme per normal metre cubed (mg/Nm3). The emission levels are also monitored real time to ensure that it remains within acceptable limits, and validated by the National Environmental standard and Regulations Agency (NESREA) during its periodic monitoring inspection of our Ewekoro Plant.

She stated that the company maintains a good relationship with its host communities and as part of its corporate social responsibility, the building solutions company has continued to live up to its billing of improving the living standard of its host communities in Ewekoro and Sagamu in Ogun State with the provision of basic business and vocational skills, start-up kits, education grants, community projects, agricultural funds, healthcare and education facilities, among others, on a yearly basis.

Ezembakwe reiterated Lafarge Africa’s commitment to the health of its host communities, by providing yearly medical examination and treatment, including medications, medicated glasses, and wheelchairs to support the health of community members.