With Holcim’s new Gold label rating for its cement plants in Obourg and Antwerp, as well as its quarries in Milieu and Leffe, the company makes it easier for its customers to receive improved sustainability ratings.
The CSC Gold label certification of the cement factories and the quarries of Milieu and Leffe is therefore very good news for the concrete producers supplied by Holcim who have a CSC certificate themselves or aspire to get one in the future.
According to David Hunin, Sustainability Manager at Holcim, “This is a globally recognized certification system aimed at supporting concrete producers in the transition to a healthier, more responsible, and sustainable industry. The CSC certification is recognized by various certification procedures for buildings, including BREEAM.”
According to Pieter Ballieu, Quality Manager Aggregates, and Steven Schaerlaekens, Technical Support Manager Cement, ‘’The CSC certification process is particularly rigorous. It includes analyzing internal procedures related to four main categories, which are then divided into subcategories. A very wide range of environmental, social, economic and management aspects are reviewed. To best manage the assessment, Holcim has formed two work groups: one to specifically handle aggregates, one to oversee cement.
With the help of a large team of employees across departments including health and safety, purchasing, human resources, logistics, quality, R&D, environment contacts, and, of course, the respective site managers, we have gathered all the documents and evidence (procedures, reports, permits, forms, photos, etc.) required to meet the precise criteria of the 100+ points audited. Real teamwork.”
This internal work was followed by a visit by an independent auditor from SGS Intron, who then verified that the reporting stipulated in the documents were implemented in the field.
Holcim Belgium has received the Gold certification for its 4 sites thanks to the transparency of its processes and operations. “We are very rigorous about this,” Pieter Ballieu and Steven Schaerlaekens pointed out.