Water management

HeidelbergCement has set itself the goal of mitigating the impact of its activities on natural water resources to the greatest extent possible. We comply with stringent environmental regulations to ensure that raw material quarrying will not damage local surface water or groundwater. We also employ efficient procedures in order to limit water consumption at our production units and we utilise effective water treatment technologies. Regular employee training and continual internal and external audits ensure that all defined processes are employed at all the units.

HeidelbergCement does not have a Group-wide water management guideline. The creation of such a guideline would require a standardised survey of water consumption and waste water volume at our 2,500 locations worldwide. However, we rely on the local initiatives of our subsidiaries, particularly in regions suffering from water shortages.

For example, all of our company’s African locations are subject to a water management plan that complies with the environmental and social standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Every facility will implement this plan in line with local conditions and requirements. The objective of the plan is to achieve optimal water consumption and treatment so as to ensure that the lowest possible amount of fresh water is used in our production processes. Our Kakanj plant in Bosnia-Herzegovina was also recently equipped with a state-of-the-art water treatment plant that has significantly reduced water consumption. For several years now, we have been documenting such practical examples and sharing them throughout the company in order to enable each facility to benefit from the expertise of the others.

Water resource protection and conservation, water consumption and processing
Raw material extraction impacts nature and water resources. At all of our quarries — even those where material removal is not carried out in groundwater sections — HeidelbergCement collects all surface water and removes it in a manner that ensures that the quarry area and its surroundings are not affected by pollution or flooding. We store the water in basins or small man-made lakes with a natural design in such a way that they can provide precious swamp and aquatic habitats for wildlife. No water is channelled into existing surface waters in the area without approval from local authorities. Process compliance is assured thanks to frequent training courses for our employees and external controls.

Water is used to clean gravel and sand and to manufacture cement and concrete. While we obtain some of this water from the public supply system, most of it is taken from groundwater or rivers and lakes. All over the world, the removal of ground and surface water is subject to strict regulations and is regularly monitored.

Some of the water — for example, that used for cooling — evaporates and is thus released into the atmosphere. The production process water that remains is purified and released back into the surface waters after extensive testing. Water used to clean transport vehicles is recycled. Normal wastewater from company buildings is disposed of via the municipal systems.

In this and all other processes, we continually strive to prevent pollution. Because the production process in quarries and gravel pits does not chemically alter the water used there, these sites contain no pollutant loads. Stringent environmental protection regulations ensure that no impurities are created at facilities such as those that manufacture concrete. Compliance with these regulations is monitored by officials from our company and by external auditors.