We work to reduce our environmental impact and use natural resources efficiently through the adoption of management systems for the main environmental aspects of our activities.
- We pump underground water to keep our quarries in good condition and use water to transform our minerals. The Group encourages the operations to reduce consumption, increase recycling and control the quality of water discharged.
- Our activities produce relatively small quantities of industrial waste. This is because minerals are mainly converted by mechanical (e.g. grinding) and physical (e.g. density separation) processes.
- Fuel use is the main source of CO2 emissions in the physical transformation of minerals. The Group aims to improve its energy efficiency and it is looking for ways to replace fossil fuels with alternative energies.
- Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SOx) are also emitted from the combustion of fuel in our conversion processes. Controls on the emissions of these materials are becoming stricter in many countries. We intend to be proactive with respect to those controls.
- The surface area affected by mining is kept to a minimum and it is continuously restored whenever possible. In addition to the compensating measures taken, quarries offer many opportunities to enhance biodiversity, especially through their end-of-life remediation.
Imerys is an essential partner for its customers. As such, Imerys supports their Sustainable Development processes. The Group’s Research & Development team increasingly considers raw material savings and carbon footprint reduction when designing new products.
As a global industrial group, Imerys is accountable for the environmental consequences for its activities. Sound Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and compliance with the laws, regulations and internal protocols that apply to its activities are essential to its performance and long-term future.
Manage properly water usage and limit waste production are part of our Sustainable Development goals.
We have implemented action programs to improve the energy efficiency of its industrial activities and, as a result, reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
We strive to lessen negative impacts of our mining and processing activities on biodiversity along three main lines: keeping affected surface area to a minimum, continuous restoration whenever possible and taking offset measures.
Constantly improving the environmental impact of our products and processes is a priority for our R&D programs. In 2011, Imerys launched around 50 new products, a large number of which offered an environmental, health or safety benefit.