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See also sections of this website entitled:

• Building materials & equipment companies
• Construction companies

Websites:

Toward a Sustainable Cement Industry project (World Business Council for Sustainable Development)

Other materials:

2003:

The launch of the UK Corporate Responsibility Index - Toby Kent reports from the launch of the BitC [Business in the Community] Corporate Responsibility Index, highlighting its main components and the major issues it raises. (Toby Kent, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 14 Mar. 2003)

• Results of first Corporate Responsibility Index published [UK] - Business in the Community has released the results of its first annual Corporate Responsibility Index today. The index publicly benchmarks the responsible business practice of top companies in the UK...Companies in the top quintile are: 3M; AstraZeneca; Aviva; BAA; BP; BT Group; Carillion; Dow Chemical Company; ISIS; J Sainsbury; Marks & Spencer; mm02; National Grid Transco; Rio Tinto; Safeway; ScottishPower; Shell International; Tesco; Unilever; Waste Recycling Group; Co-operative Bank; Co-operative Insurance Society; Innogy Holdings; Lafarge Cement UK; Vivendi Water. (Business in the Community, 12 Mar. 2003)

• Corporate Responsibility Index (Business in the Community)

• 2002 Index Results (Business in the Community)

• New UK Index Rates Corporate Social Responsibility Performance (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 13 Mar. 2003)

Charter for voluntary pollution control [India] - The Ministry of Environment and Forests and industrial sector are all set to enter into a partnership on voluntary pollution control by releasing a charter on Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection in New Delhi on March 13...The 17 major polluting industries identified for preparatory approach towards pollution control are: cement, aluminium, thermal power plants, oil refineries, pesticides, iron and steel, pulp and paper, copper and zinc, distilleries, sugar, petrochemicals, dye and dye intermediates, caustic soda, pharmaceuticals, tanneries and fertilizer industry. (The Hindu, 10 Mar. 2003)

2002:

Workplace Racism Rife Post S11 [Australia] - A Turkish worker [at Boral Concrete] who has lived in Australia for 33 years says he’s been the butt of jokes and abuse from workmates since last years September 11 attacks on the United States. (Labor Council of NSW [New South Wales], Workers Online, 11 Oct. 2002)

Activists bring their complaints home to Taiwan - DISPUTE: US workers for plants owned by Taiwan's Koo's Group are angry and they have brought their grievances across the Pacific to Koo's doorstep - Hundreds of labor and environmental activists from 16 countries yesterday protested in front of the Taiwan Cement Corp building in Taipei to urge the Koo's Group to solve disputes involving one of its subsidiaries in the US. The protesters claim that Koo's Group's Continental Carbon Co violated environmental protection and labor rights laws [in USA] (Chiu Yu-Tzu, Taipei Times, 10 Oct. 2002)

Hazardous Waste as Fuel: Conservation or Corporate Irresponsibility? The cement industry calls the use of hazardous waste to fuel cement kilns recycling while critics of the practice call it dangerous. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 11 Sep. 2002)

Enabling the Poor to Build Housing: Pursuing Profit and Social Development Together [Mexico] -...This month, Changemakers features an innovative experiment by the Cemex corporation that has enabled 20,000 very poor families in Mexico to purchase building materials and upgrade their homes – without receiving any subsidies. Rather, this program provides new profit-making opportunities for Cemex. (Kris Herbst, Changemakers Journal, Sep. 2002)

The Cement Sustainability Initiative - Panel and Discussion - World Summit on Sustainable Development - Johannesburg - Friday, 30 August 2002 (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) [added to this site on 5 Aug. 2002]

Cement Companies Churn Out Action Plan to Promote Sustainable Development - The Cement Sustainability Initiative, a consortium of ten global cement companies, recently released a report outlining specific steps to achieve sustainable development...The ten member companies include Mexico-based Cemex, France-based Lafarge, U.K.-based RMC, and Thailand-based Siam Cement. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 10 July 2002) 

Cement Companies Make Concrete Commitment to Sustainability - Ten major cement companies have published an agenda for action on sustainable development, which aims to accelerate sustainable practices in the cement industry. Produced by the Cement Sustainability Initiative in association with the Geneva-based World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 'Our Agenda for Action' is the next step of a project spearheaded by 10 of the world's largest cement producers: Cemex (Mexico), Cimpor (Portugal), HeidelbergCement (Germany), Holcim (Switzerland), Italcementi (Italy), Lafarge (France), RMC (United Kingdom), Siam Cement (Thailand), Taiheiyo (Japan) and Votorantim (Brazil). (GreenBiz.com, 5 July 2002)

PACE International Union and Ponca Tribe Initiate Legal Action Against Continental Carbon Over Environmental Violations [USA]: Protest at Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality over Agency Inaction - The Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) and representatives of the Ponca Indian Tribe today served Continental Carbon Company and its Taiwan- based parent companies, China Synthetic Rubber Company and Taiwan Cement Corp., with a "Notice of Intent to Sue" for alleged violations of state and federal environmental laws in Ponca City, Okla. (PACE International Union, 19 June 2002)

Guangdong governor says pollution plan in place [China] - The Chinese province of Guangdong says it has a full plan to tackle its serious environmental pollution [refers to curbs on cement & brick factories, automobiles, pig farms] (Eric Hall, Reuters, 6 June 2002)

Sustainable development is serious stuff for industries - ‘Sector projects’, a new WBCSD brochure, outlines the groundbreaking work carried out by six industry sectors toward sustainable development. [the 6 sectors: Forestry; Sustainable Mobility; Cement Sustainability Initiative; Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development; Electricity Utilities; Financial Sector] (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 28 May 2002)

• WBCSD Sector Projects brochure (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, May 2002)  [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

• The WBCSD’s sector projects. Speech by Mr Björn Stigson, President, WBCSD at the WBCSD Sector Report Launch side event at Prepcom IV in Bali, May 28, 2002. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 28 May 2002) [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

• The WBCSD’s sector projects. Speech by Nabiel Makarim, MPA MSM, Indonesian State Minister of the Environment and co-chair of PrepCom IV, at the WBCSD Sector Report Launch side event at Prepcom IV in Bali, May 28, 2002. (Nabiel Makarim, Indonesian State Minister of the Environment, 28 May 2002) [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

2001:

Greenpeace occupies toxic cement kiln and calls for end to waste burning [Sweden] (Greenpeace, 16 May 2001)

Environmental Justice Issues Force Cement Plant to Close [USA] (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 24 Apr. 2001)