ECAN e-magazine: Built for All (October)

FOR

INSIDE BROOKFIELD CEMENT PLANT

PART 2 INTERVIEW WITH RICK CAMM, BROOKFIELD CEMENT PLANT

We had the pleasure of talking to Rick Camm, Quality and Optimization Manager at Brookfield Cement Plant in Nova Scotia. Rick has been working at Lafarge Eastern Canada for 42 years and he is known for being an encyclopedia for most of the Plant’s employees.

Check out his interview below:

[Anna Salomao] Thanks for talking with us today, Rick and sharing your journey at Lafarge Eastern Canada with our colleagues. Let’s start by how did you first start working at Brookfield? And what can you tell me about the culture at the Plant?

[Rick Camm] Thank you, Anna. I first started as a summer student actually - at the time, my father was the Plant’s controller. I would say we currently have a great team and there is a huge sense of collaboration and teamwork across the board.

[AS] What was one of your proudest moments at the Plant? Can you describe it?

[RC] I would probably go back to 1996/97, I developed a microscopy program for clinker microscopy. I’ve always had an interest in technology and this was sort of the onset of digital imaging. I would capture an image from microscopy of a clinker sample, I’d bring it into a digital basic program that you could measure crystals. The idea was to improve clinker quality and have a better process within the kiln. The program became implemented worldwide with Lafarge and I believe it is still in use in some places. They sent me to Seville 97, a conference in Spain, to do demonstrations of the project and I had a great time.

[AS] Would you like to expand on a specific project currently in the works at the Plant?

[RC] I would say the alternative fuels initiative is definitely a priority and the possibility of processing our own plastics is exciting. Geocycle is a key player in that program and in my opinion, for the last couple of years we have seen a lot of investments in the Plant, for example we have recently upgraded our lab’s equipment - so we are looking forward to the future. Brookfield has always been known as a training plant because of our well run operation and our knowledgeable people.

[AS] How would you describe the relationship with the local community?

[RC] Overall the relationship has always been positive. The Plant has contributed to the community in many ways, such as providing scholarships at the local high school, building a sportsplex (hockey and curling rink), etc. We have recurring community meetings and the relationship has been positive.

CHECK OUT THE FRENCH VERSION ON CONNECT.

THE DESK OF LIKA

The 2022 ECAN Health & Safety Awards campaign took place last month - our chance to recognize our colleagues’ incredible dedication to safety and share ideas and innovations across the Region.

Each quarter, submissions are gathered from all ECAN Units and a panel of experts review all submissions to determine winners in a number of categories.

For Q3 we asked for submissions related to:

• Critical Control Management (CCM) - how have you improved safety related to one of the 12 Critical Controls,

• Engagement - how have you improved engagement and communication with your teams and/or recognized safety excellence,

• Continuous Improvement - how have you defined a baseline and then implemented a process to build on that momentum and ensure sustainability.

Stay in the lookout for the Award recipients list and thank you for participating!

OF HEALTH

LAFARGE PROVIDES TWO PORTABLE PLANTS TO WIND FARM IN NEW BRUNSWICK “

Between 2008 and 2018, TransAlta Corporation completed the Kent Hills Wind farm project in the Elgin region (Moncton) - the largest wind farm in New Brunswick. The project involved the installation of 50 wind turbines for a combined capacity of 167 MW. Each tower sat atop an 80-meter platform, and had a blade diameter of 90 meters.

In 2021, one of the wind towers collapsed due to a faulty foundation (rock anchor type), and subsequent inspection found deficiencies in the design of the 50 wind tower foundations on site. As a result, the wind towers were dismantled and the existing foundations were removed and replaced with new buoyant concrete foundations - the most typical design of wind farms built in Canada.

Tenders were released in the winter of 2022 for the removal and reinstallation of the wind towers, including the supply of approximately 20,000 m3 of concrete. Since the site is fairly remote (60 minutes from Moncton –and all uphill) and each base requires 400 m3 of concrete, the General Contractor, Bird Construction, required a large portable plant to set it up in the middle of the wind farm. To ensure continuous supply, it was requested that a second, independent, backup concrete plant was also set up so that no pour interruption would occur, if the primary plant could not be used due to mechanical failure or other issue.

SOURCE: JAMIE WILLET

SOURCE: JAMIE

“

2022 OYW RECAP

LET’S HEAR FROM OUR CANADA REPRESENTATIVES NIMCO AND LUCAS

Last month, in Manchester, UK, Nimco Moumin, Senior Manager, M&A Corporate Development and Lucas de Gelder, Reliability Manager, Bath Cement Plant, took part in the 2022 One Young World Summit, proudly representing Lafarge Canada.

The summit brought together young leaders from around the globe to connect and engage about some of the biggest challenges facing our world, now and in the years ahead.

According to Nimco, “Despite all the bad happening in the world today, the OYW Summit reminded us that there are young

visionaries and future leaders doing amazing work across the globe with a collective mission: accelerate action to a more sustainable future. We all have a role to play because "what is measured is done".

“Surrounded by over 2000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, the One Young World conference was a powerful reminder of the leadership incumbent on our generation to accelerate sustainability initiatives and “walk the talk” on our journey to Net Zero,” commented Lucas.

ECAN PARTICIPATES IN CO-CREATION CHALLENGE WEBINAR

CHECK OUT THE FRENCH VERSION ON CONNECT.

On September 22, Lafarge Eastern Canada took part in the Cocreation Challenge webinar, with Québec BVI, CIMA+ and Pomerleau. This challenge is designed to improve the circularity of building materials and to reduce emissions at the source.

According to Stéphane Caron, General Manager, Aggregates - Greater Montreal and Eastern Ontario, who presented a portrait of Lafarge ECAN’s circular economy actions: "The event was a great success and an opportunity to connect with many participants from the business, architectural, municipal and engineering communities. It certainly created a buzz around the challenge and we are confident it will lead to tangible results"

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE WEBINAR (IN FRENCH ONLY).

GEOCYCLE WEEK 2022

ACROSS ECAN COME TOGETHER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

This year’s Geocycle Week, was held from September 12 to 18, under the theme #OnlyOneEarth #RethinkingWaste, echoing World Environment Day’s 2022 theme. Geocycle Week also coincided with World Cleanup Day (Sept 17), a global mobilization harnessing the power of people joining forces for transformative environmental action.

For the occasion, contests and activities were organized via Geocycle’s LinkedIn. Thank you all who participated!

Geocycle sites across ECAN held activities and events highlighting their increasing efforts to recycle waste, decrease landfills, and save natural resources.

Way to go teams – congratulations on these sustainable actions!

The Saint-Constant team in Québec invited employees, surrounding companies and communities, to bring and deposit used whole tires for recycling purposes. Geocycle, in collaboration with the Saint-Constant plant’s operation team, co-process and valorize used tires, using them as low carbon fuels in the cement production.

In total, 1300 used whole tires were collected in two days - a total of 15 metric tons of waste recovered!

Josée Dionne, the Geocycle Site Manager was accompanied by Ariane Joly, Environment Coordinator and Alain Chaput, Yard and Unloading Dock Supervisor at the plant, to answer participants’ questions and raise awareness about this green action.

Most participants did not know used whole tires could be used in cement kilns and be part of the final product, all while not generating ashes. Many of them even suggested that the event be held on an annual basis.

CHECK OUT THE FRENCH VERSION ON CONNECT.

The event ended on a sustainable note with lunch provided by a local food truck that sources its raw food components and products from local sustainable farmers and suppliers, in an effort to lower carbon emissions associated with long distance shipping.

At the Bath Plant in Ontario, a sustainability focused presentation - offered also virtually - was conducted with the aim to enhance employees' understanding of Geocycle's partnership with cement plants to offer coprocessing solutions as an innovative way to tackle the global waste challenge.

The presentation was well received and the open discussion portion raised many suggestions on how we can continue to join hands and work together to preserve our environment.

In addition, members of each department took part in a plant wide clean-up drive. Various indoor and outdoor areas of the plant were cleaned, such as the: kiln feed end tower, lab penthouse, spill shed, production tool crib, boat dock and shoreline area. The collected items were split into: reusable items, industrial and residential waste.

Chris Richards, Geocycle Site ManagerBrookfield, presented the latest co-processing upgrades and preprocessing platform project led by the Geocycle team and the Brookfield Plant in Nova Scotia as part of the Atlantic Canada Chapter in the 2022 Fall Technical Summit of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA).

He shared an overview of Geocycle’s global activities, the low carbon fuel program led at the Brookfield plant and the considered future endeavours, with the flexibility available in the new industrial approval.

The meeting was a great awareness-raising opportunity, with the participation of representatives of Atlantic Canada, industry, solid waste professionals, government and environment officials.

*Thank you to the local teams for the contents of this article*

Over the next few months, we will be highlighting our very own ECAN female drivers and operators on Dispatch and Built for All e-magazine in a series called Women on Wheels. We are proud of the work and are excited to get to share their journeys more broadly. This week, we talked to Darlene Shaw, ReadyMix DriverGuelph, who has been working at Lafarge for 23 years - check out her interview below.

[Anna Salomao] Hi Darlene, thanks for accepting our invitation. Let’s start with your passion for driving, how did you discover it? How long have you been doing it professionally?

[Darlene Shaw] I would have to say I discovered my passion for driving from my father. As a long time ready mix driver himself, I could see myself following in his footsteps. He made the opportunity available to me and I took it. We discussed what this career would look like for me and explained there is nothing about the job that I, as a female, couldn't do.

WOMEN ON WHEELS Meet

Darlene Shaw, RMX Driver

So I thought why not give it a try. I have been working for Lafarge Guelph for over 23 yrs as a driver/dispatcher.

[AS] Wow, that’s impressive! What is the best thing about your job? What makes you wake up in the morning and go to work?

[DS] There are many things that I love about my job. I have met so many amazing people and have created a lot of very close friendships. I enjoy the outdoors and the variety of work this job has to offer. Most of all the financial security has afforded me the opportunity to own my home and raise my children comfortably. Waking up each morning looking forward to seeing my colleagues and having the many laughs together each and every day make it easy to set my alarm.

[AS] Good for you. What a great testimonial. Can you expand on what your career has been like at Lafarge?

[DS] My career has definitely had its ups and downs. In the beginning the fear of the unknown was a hurdle for me. Being the first female in the industry in our area, I wasn't sure what the response would be from customers and coworkers. Back then it wasn't even heard of for a female to drive in the ready mix market. When everyone realized I could do the job as well or maybe even better than my counterparts, it wasn't an issue. That being said I get a great deal of positive reactions when I show up to job sites. They greet me with open arms. A huge win for me would definitely be the respect I feel when a new driver (men and women) asks for advice and I'm able to help.

[AS] You really are a trailblazer and you are paving the way for many other women. How do you identify with the company’s values of Passion, Collaboration, and Grit?

[DS] My career at Lafarge has allowed me to experience many things. I can honestly say after 23 years, I still love my job. Every day is a new challenge. I feel like my opinion matters and that we are a team. We work together to make sure that everyone works safely and efficiently. There is an open line of communication between both the drivers and management and I always feel like both groups will stand behind me should problems arise.

[AS] What a great team indeed. Can you tell us what is your proudest moment in your career as a driver?

[DS] My proudest moment as a driver I would say is still ongoing, for example, having had zero accidents the entire time with Lafarge. Interestingly enough, a few years back, I was asked to become a driver instructor and complete the Smith system defensive driving course. It opened my eyes to different situations and what to look for in other drivers on the road to avoid accidents. Now, not only do I apply these skills at work, but in my personal vehicle as well. And I also find myself teaching my two sons the 5 major keys.

[AS] Learning is very gratifying. To wrap it up, do you have any advice for women that would like to start a career in driving in our industry?

[DS] My advice for women who would like to start a career with us would be to believe in yourself. Know that you can do it. It's ok to feel uncomfortable at first. After all, you are learning something new. There are many people to help along the way. This may be the perfect fit for you as it has been for me.

We are looking for more female drivers and operators like Darlene. Would you like to make a referral? Please send an email to rebekah. mackey@lafarge.com

If you are a driver or an operator and would like to be featured in Women on Wheels, send an email to rebekah. mackey@lafarge.com

CHECK OUT THE FRENCH VERSION ON CONNECT.

Dear colleagues,

Sep 30th marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day in Canada - a day of remembrance, reflection, action, and learning.

At Lafarge Eastern Canada, we want to honour residential school survivors, their families, and their communities. Therefore, this is an important time for all of us to stand together with our Indigenous Peoples colleagues and reflect on how each of us can play a part in the journey of reconciliation.

We encourage all ECAN employees to take this opportunity to learn more about the complex experiences Indigenous Peoples face every day. Click here to take the Indigenous Canada Program - a free online course brought by the University of Alberta or watch this 6-minute documentary from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Our commitment

Together with our IDEAL committee, we at Lafarge Eastern Canada strive to foster a safe and inclusive workplace environment where our employees can thrive.

In addition, we want to reiterate our purpose of building progress for people and the planet by raising awareness of the individual, family, and community intergenerational impacts of residential schools in Canada.

Every child matters.

Thank you to all ECAN colleagues who wore their orange shirts on September 30th. Check out their pictures.

SEPT 30:

DAY FOR TRUTH

CHECK OUT THE FFRENCH VERSION ON CONNECT.

CEO AWARDS - Q3 EDITION

BY DAVID REDFERN EMPLOYEE NOMINATION

Dear colleagues,

First, I want to thank our ECAN team members for having submitted their employee nominations in the last quarter. We have taken our CEO Awards program to the next level because we understand that employee recognition is a key part of our culture as we build progress for people and the planet.

We want to encourage our employees to once again acknowledge their colleagues’ hard work and dedicationthis time in Q3.

How does it work?

We ask employees to reflect on the past quarter, consider the teams and employees’ achievements and think about who they would like to nominate. It's important for a CEO Award recipient to bring to life our ECAN values of passion, collaboration, and grit or to deliver an initiative in line with the following Strategy 2025 focus areas:

Health & Safety

Cash & Cost

Growth

Innovation & Sustainability

Solutions & Products

Superior Performance

Digital

Purpose & Values

Please click here to enter your nomination or scan the QR code. In addition, check out the CEO Awards poster to be shared with our Operations Teams. Please fill out the form by October 13th.

Each nomination will be reviewed carefully after submission and the final recipients will be announced at the next Town Hall.

Thank you for your contribution in recognizing our achievements and appreciating your fellow team members.

David Redfern

President & CEO, Eastern Canada

HOLCIM EXPANDS DIGITAL CUSTOMER PLATFORM CONCRETEDIRECT TO EUROPE AND LATIN AMERICA

• ConcreteDirect offers jobsite professionals a fully digital customer experience

• Launched in the US in 2019, ConcreteDirect facilitates real-time transparency and collaboration

• Expansion will reach customers in France, Germany and the UK, as well as Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador

Digitalizing its business for impact, Holcim is expanding its proprietary digital customer platform, ConcreteDirect, from North America to Europe and Latin America. This expansion of this comprehensive digital platform for construction job site professionals offers a seamless customer experience from France, Germany and the UK, all the way to Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador. The platform connects all relevant jobsite professionals on a construction site with Holcim’s teams to best coordinate their tasks with tailored real-time information in a fully digital environment.

Magali Anderson, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer: “We are excited about our leading portfolio of sustainable and high-performance concrete and are committed to providing evidence to the market that our product innovation truly delivers the results we promise. ConcreteDirect gives our customers the full transparency to verify that we live up to our claim – with every order, every day.”

Miljan Gutovic, Region Head EMEA: “Our customers in Europe are eager to explore reliable digital solutions to gain efficiencies and harness data-driven insights. Feedback from the pilot users of ConcreteDirect has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re thrilled to offer this platform to more customers across Europe.”

Construction job sites around the world face pressures from scarcity of skilled labor and shorter project timelines to tighter budgets. North American customers have been quick to adopt ConcreteDirect to mitigate those pressures. To date, the platform has processed nearly 100m cubic meters of concrete deliveries in the US, Canada and Mexico.

The ConcreteDirect platform is fully owned by Holcim and managed through the Holcim Maqer organization, supported by its Digital Centers in Medellin, Madrid and Mumbai.

HOLCIM PARTNERS WITH SBTI TO LAUNCH 1.5°C SCIENCE-BASED FRAMEWORK

• World-first 1.5°C science-based framework to decarbonize cement industry

• Holcim updating 2030 targets in line with new 1.5°C framework

• Accelerating Holcim’s commitment to decarbonize building

Holcim announces the launch of the world’s first 1.5°C sciencebased framework to decarbonize the cement industry, resulting from its partnership with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This framework was independently developed by the SBTi, in collaboration with an Expert Advisory Group representing academia, civil society and industry, to decarbonize cement in a rigorous and science-driven way. Holcim has submitted its 1.5°C-aligned 2030 targets for SBTi validation, and is engaging with like-minded organizations at New York Climate Week to scale up the framework’s deployment.

Jan Jenisch, CEO Holcim: “With today’s growing population and rising urbanization, the construction sector has a key role to play to build a net-zero future. At Holcim, we are at the forefront of decarbonizing building across its entire lifecycle to build better with less, from our own operations to low carbon construction, all the way to energy-efficient buildings in use. Taking a rigorous, science-driven approach on this journey, we partnered with the SBTi to create the 1.5°C-aligned framework for the sector. Today we submit our 2030 net-zero targets in line with this framework and encourage all our peers to join us to scale up our impact together.”

Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of the SBTi: “To prevent the climate crisis from getting worse and the negative impacts becoming more frequent with every fraction of warming, urgent action from the private sector is required. For the first time, cement companies have a clear blueprint on how to align their decarbonization strategies with climate science taking into account the unique context of the industry. The transformation towards low-carbon technologies is critical for the long-term viability of the industry. We encourage all cement production companies to set science-based targets and to play their role in building a climate safe economy."

Taking a rigorous science-driven approach to its net-zero journey Holcim is decarbonizing building across its entire life cycle. To build better with less Holcim launched the world’s broadest range of low-carbon materials, from ECOPact green concrete to ECOPlanet green cement, offering 100% performance with up to 90% less CO2. Making buildings more sustainable in use, Holcim offers a range of solutions, from roofing to insulation to drive energy-efficiency and green retrofitting.

HOLCIM CLOSES CANTILLANA ACQUISITION

Holcim has completed the acquisition of Cantillana, a specialty building solutions market leader in Belgium with 2022 estimated net sales of EUR 80 million. Cantillana offers a broad range of façade construction and external thermal insulation systems. This further strengthens Holcim’s position in building renovation and energy efficiency solutions, building on the recent acquisitions of PRB Group in France, PTB-Compaktuna in Belgium and Izolbet in Poland. With more than 200 employees and nine production facilities across Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, Cantillana’s footprint and product portfolio will generate additional synergies across the business and accelerate the growth of Solutions & Products in Europe.

Miljan Gutovic, Region Head Europe Middle East Africa: “I warmly welcome all Cantillana employees to the Holcim family as another step in our expansion of Solutions & Products, advancing ‘Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth’. This addition strengthens our presence in Europe even further, especially in building renovation and energy efficiency solutions. We look forward to entering our next era of growth together.”

Cantillana was founded in 1875 in Sint-Niklaas (Belgium) as a branch of a construction company and in 1982 the company was acquired by the Stadsbader Group. Cantillana’s geographical footprint is highly complementary to PRB Group, as is its product portfolio with PTB-Compaktuna.

The acquisition further advances Holcim’s “Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth” with the goal to expand its Solutions & Products business to 30% of Group net sales by 2025, entering the most attractive construction segments, from roofing systems to insulation and renovation.

OUT THE FRENCH

Would you like to see your story featured in our next edition? Send your story to anna.salomao@lafarge.com

Vous aimeriez voir votre récit publié dans notre prochain numéro? Envoyez votre texte à l’adresse anna.salomao@lafarge.com

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