Siam City Cement (Vietnam) Ltd

2017

Green Company Of The Year

Siam City Cement (Vietnam) Ltd

Green Company Of The Year

2017

Siam City Cement (Vietnam) Ltd

“The cement industry has made significant progress in reducing carbon dioxide emissions through improvements in process and efficiency.”

Siam City Cement (Vietnam) Ltd was established 21 years ago and registered in Vietnam. It is a producer of cement and concrete, and also provides industrial waste treatment solutions. The company’s mission is to provide world-class construction materials and services that are vital to economic growth in Thailand and the wider region. Combining sustainability and innovation, the company strives for operational excellence and works to exceed the expectations of all its stakeholders. Its reputation is built on outstanding performance in the quality of its products and customer service, as well as the dedication and skill of its employees; its respect for the communities in which it operates in, and their overarching objective which is to set the standards for the industry of tomorrow.

Concrete is the most common construction material used in the building industry. Cement is a basic component of concrete used for building and civil engineering construction. The cement industry is an energy intensive one, with energy typically accounting for about 40 percent of operational costs. The production of cement involves the consumption of large quantities of raw materials, energy, and heat. Cement production also results in the release of a significant amount of solid waste materials and gaseous emissions. The manufacturing process is very complex, involving a large number of materials, pyroprocessing techniques (wet and dry kiln, preheating, recirculation), and fuel sources. The cement manufacturing industry is under close scrutiny these days because of the large volumes of carbon dioxide emitted.

Concern over the impact of anthropogenic carbon emissions on the global climate has increased in recent years due to growth in global warming awareness. In addition to the generation of carbon dioxide, the cement manufacturing process produces millions of tons of waste product in the form of cement kiln dust, contributing to respiratory and pollution health risks.

The cement industry, led by far-sighted green-thinking companies like Siam City Cement, has made significant progress in reducing carbon dioxide emissions through improvements in process and efficiency. Siam City Cement’s commitment to caring for its people, environment, community, and country is what has garnered it this Green award.

In 1989 in order to reduce the consumption of fuel which represented a major cost of cement production, the company became the first cement producer in Southeast Asia to introduce a waste heat recovery system which converted heat captured from the cement kilns into electricity.

In 2014, the company achieved Carbon Footprint for Product (CFP) and Carbon Footprint Reduction labels from Thailand Greenhouse Management Organization (TGO). Moreover, the company also received the Green Industry Level 5 (Green Network) award, which is the highest level awarded by the Ministry of Industry, Thailand. This makes Siam City Cement the first company in the cement industry to have all of its three plants awarded Green Industry Level 5 certification.

In order to be good environmental citizens, Siam City Cement has espoused a five-step process which takes into accounts all variables of their business. Beginning with Investigation, the company has focused on state-of-the-art technologies which allow a green manufacturing approach, which is measured by efficient usage of natural resource, minimisation of emissions, and mitigation of environment impact.

A sustainable development strategy is at the core of its business strategy. The company believes that a sustainable development orientation supports it in balancing its contribution to the triple bottom line of economic growth, social responsibility and environment performance. To achieve this, Siam City Cement puts its people through rigorous training; with its business processes being equally measured by industry certifications and affiliations like ISO (International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations) and Sedex (a global non-profit membership organisation that oversees ethical and environmental business operations).

Siam City Cement ensures that its operations are monitored and audited, with 24/7 monitoring systems, scheduled equipment calibration, an annual baseline survey and periodic assessments. This is shored up by initiatives and programmes which further promote the company’s stand on good environmental practices.

The company has formed Insee Green as part of its Building Together initiative. Insee Green focuses on green manufacturing, environment performance and environment awareness. Being aware of the importance of alternative fuels and raw materials in the cement production process, Siam City Cement is one of the pioneers in AFR development in Thailand with the founding of a business unit to focus on AFR development. Called INSEE Ecocycle, the firm specialises in the recovery of materials, which would otherwise be sent to landfills, trash incinerators or illegal dumps, to be co-processed in cement kilns as fuel and raw materials.

Since 2005 INSEE Ecocycle has offered this waste management service which transforms waste derived from industrial, community and agricultural sectors into alternative fuels and raw materials to be used in the cement production process. This business unit is one of Thailand’s best and biggest alternative fuels pre-processing platforms.

To continually underscore the company’s commitment to good environmental practices, Siam City Cement focuses on constant internal and external communication. Site Green Days are organised for all employees, and is focused on environment activities such as tree planting. Employees are also asked to keep their used batteries and non-functioning electronic items for points. The points are collected and then redeemed against gifts, while the collected electronic waste is collected and environmentally recycled.

There is also a company-wide waste classification system which helps employees to distinguish between different waste materials. Organic waste generated by the staff is made into fertilizer after a composting process. Schools around the company are also called to be part of the zero-waste process, with volunteers from the company going into the schools to educate pupils on environmental awareness.