Task force sets out goals for industry to met social and environmental challenges.

The cement industry has set out its goals to ensure a higher level of sustainability in a report by a British Cement Association task force.

The task force is made up of representatives of the BCA and its member companies Buxton Lime Industries, Castle Cement, CEMEX UK and Lafarge UK, and is chaired by LaFarge’s managing director Jeff Sautin. It has identified five key areas on which the industry should concentrate over the next 12 months: development of carbon strategy; the health and safety of communities living near cement operations; raising awareness of the benefits of using concrete in terms of climate control and building efficiency; continuing dialogue with stakeholders and implementing the cement makers’ code.

Jeff Sautin said: “Sustainability, in all its aspects, represents a major challenge to our daily lives. Although we have made significant steps, it has continued to be something with which the cement industry has wrestled. The task force was the logical response.”