Headed towards sustainable production of cement

A contribution to sustainable development.

Global production of cement accounts for seven per cent of the world’s total CO2 emissions. And the number continues to grow. Therefore, the cement industry keeps a sharpened focus on optimising its utilisation of energy and natural resources. HASLE Refractories delivers a precast modular lining for cement kilns, that offers increased capacity and improved isolation compared to other solutions. The particularly resistant surface of the modular lining makes it possible to use other fuels besides oil and gas without the risk of unforeseen interruptions. This enables industrial plants to produce energy from resources such as waste, which would have been lost otherwise.

A sustainable view of the business

HASLE Refractories owner and CEO Michael Bladt on SDG Business Booster:

What was your motivation for entering SDG Business Booster?

‘We were beginning to wonder if we were getting enough out of our products’ contribution to climate change mitigation, and whether we were able to add more green to our branding.’

How has SDG Business Booster helped develop your company?

‘The fact that the UN’s 17 SDGs constitute a global language of sustainability that our international customers already speak was an eyeopener. We have several products that tap into the sustainable transformation, but only now is it clear to us how to describe this sustainability perspective to our customers and to the rest of the world. During SDG Business Booster, we focused on an existing solution that we had not previously considered in the light of sustainability. In the course of the three workshops, we defined our value proposition and articulated our SDG impact. More specifically, we can help reduce the cement industry’s massive resource consumption and make ours a more sustainable industry. This insight and new way of communicating about our products have opened new doors to customers’ top management teams in addition to their production managers, who have been our contacts, traditionally. The SDGs are an agenda at the level of CEOs. From this point of view, SDG Business Booster has helped us understand and communicate the sustainable potential of our products in a way that is highly interesting to our customers and other stakeholders.’

What is your advice for other companies that are curious about exploring the business potential of working strategically with the UN’s SDGs and contributing to a sustainable development?

’You have to be prepared to have your mindset challenged and you may become frustrated at times. It can be quite a complex process because it requires you to consider your entire value chain. However, it helps move the company, and we have gained new insights that we can apply to our business plan and communication.’