Lafarge Africa Plc has announced the launch of Eco Label brand to transparently communicate the environmental benefits of its sustainable building solutions.
The Eco Label branding builds on the company’s net zero pledge and supports its ambition to accelerate green construction with the use of lower-footprint products.
Lafarge UniCem brand which contributes about 23 per cent of the company’s entire volume is now eco-friendly. The products that are certified to be eco-friendly have a lower 30 per cent carbon footprint compared to the local industry standard.
Eco Label represents a broad range of green cement for high performance, sustainability and circular construction. By the production of this eco-friendly cement, Lafarge’s end-users have the opportunity to make greener choices and accelerate the country’s carbon reduction journey in the manufacturing sector.
The product was formally unveiled in Calabar. Speaking on the initiative, Country chief executive officer, Lafarge Africa, Khaled El Dokani termed this as a significant milestone for the company, in demonstrating its efforts towards the global climate change commitment of net zero emissions.
“Lafarge Africa is proud to be the first local cement manufacturer of eco-friendly cement to the Nigerian market. With the rollout of this Eco brand, we are accelerating the transition to more sustainable building materials for greener construction.”
“We are proud of turning our net zero pledge into action with our broad range of green building solutions. The Eco Label is a key milestone on this journey, confirming our group’s commitment to leading the way in sustainability and innovation,” El Dokani added.
Plant manager of Lafarge Mfamosing Plant, Sotirios Valsamakis reiterated the company’s continuous commitment to ensure sustainable development through its effective management in line with global best practices in Environmental, Social and Governance.
He added that Lafarge Africa, as a member of Holcim, is leveraging its four sustainability pillars of Climate and Energy, Circular Economy, Environment, and Community in reinforcing innovation which has led to the introduction of this Eco-friendly cement brand.
Also, Plant Customer Development manager, Sales & Marketing, Lafarge Africa, Vorke Enite said: “the Eco Label launch is a zero-emission initiative and is in compliance with global best practices.”
Also speaking at the event, the Cross River State coordinator of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Engr. Ninma Apim emphasised the need to mitigate global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, commending Lafarge Africa for being the first cement factory in Nigeria to introduce a cement brand such as the Unicem Portland
Limestone Cement which is certified as eco-friendly.
“It is a good initiative and since it has started with Lafarge with this plant, we are hoping it will extend and other plants will follow suit and reduce carbon emission because cement factories emit a lot of it into the atmosphere. And if we continue to reduce emissions, we will have a greener earth,” he concluded.