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1Q 2013 Earnings Report Live Video Webcast Friday, April 26, 2013, 10:00 AM ET. More

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Sustainable Development
We have identified 7 areas of the highest concern to our company and our stakeholders. More

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Sustainable Development

Air Quality & Noise

Cement production releases different types of pollutants into the environment, mainly as airborne emissions, which must be strictly controlled. The major emissions our operations release are dust, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur compounds, which are often subject to national legislation and local regulation. Other pollutants, such as dioxins, furans, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals, are usually found in very small quantities in emissions from our cement plants. We have comprehensive continuous and discontinuous systems in place to monitor the release of major and minor emissions.

We conform to the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) reporting protocol for emissions and approved a five-year capital expenditure of US$10 million, beginning in 2007, to achieve our target of continuous monitoring of major pollutants in all of our kilns by 2015. We have also invested in new equipment to reduce our air emissions at many of our sites. We believe that using residues from other industries as a fuel source helps to save resources while safely disposing of society's wastes.

Our efforts include:

Investing in equipment to reduce major emissions (dust, NOx, SOx),

Establishing the “status analysis” for minor emissions at cement kilns (evaluating the emissions “fingerprint” of each kiln to determine if additional controls are needed),

Developing guidelines for handling fuels and emissions,

Participating in industry-based efforts and multi-stakeholder dialogues to develop methods for addressing mercury and dioxin emissions,

Reporting emissions in accordance with the CSI reporting protocol.

In addition, we are working diligently to monitor, measure and reduce our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as part of our broad-based effort to address climate change. We are increasingly using alternative fuels and renewable energy sources to generate power for our operations. We invest in wind, hydro power, and waste-to-energy projects that power our operations and help us reduce our CO2 emissions.

Our efforts to address climate change

Our quarrying and cement manufacturing activities give rise to emissions of noise and vibration that can have a negative impact on the health and well-being of workers as well as the surrounding community.

We work to mitigate the noise associated with our operations through operational controls and local measures such as noise suppressors, regulation of distance between noise sources and operators, isolation of noise sources, scheduling of blasting activities, and the provision of ear protectors to employees working in areas where noise levels exceed noise limits. These controls conform to the standards and requirements of our environmental management system and local regulations.

To minimize traffic congestion, and as part of our sustainable transport approach, we seek alternative ways to transport our raw materials and products. For example, many sites use conveyor belts to transport raw materials from the quarry, which reduces noise, congestion, and the likelihood of traffic accidents while also conserving fuel use. We seek alternative modes of transport—for example, multimodal systems comprising road, rail, and water transport—wherever feasible to reduce these impacts. The ultimate impact of these efforts is to reduce noise, vibration, energy use, CO2 emissions, and costs.