SKOKIE, Ill. – On April 29, 2008, the CEMEX cement plant in Davenport, Calif., received the Overall Environmental Excellence Award from the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Cement Americas magazine as part of the 2008 Cement Industry Energy and Environment Awards, honoring sustainable manufacturing practices.

The award was presented at PCA’s Spring Meeting in Chicago.

PCA presents the Overall Environmental Excellence Award to a plant demonstrating merit in the five categories it recognizes:  Outreach, Environmental Performance, Land Stewardship, Innovation, and Energy Efficiency.  In addition to accepting this honor, the plant won the Land Stewardship category and was a finalist in the Environmental Performance and Energy Efficiency categories.

The CEMEX Davenport plant demonstrates excellence in several aspects of environmental responsibility. In 2007, the facility completed improved dust management, site paving, and stormwater controls, and made site aesthetic improvements. The plant beneficially uses all produced kiln dust and reclaims more than 26,000 tons annually from an existing dust landfill. To conserve resources, the facility collects and uses byproducts from other industries and wastewater. The plant received the 2007 U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR® award for energy efficiency. The facility routinely involves the local community in plant activities.

The CEMEX Davenport plant has established a diverse land stewardship program. In 2007, the plant partnered with University of California in Santa Clara to complete an inventory of the diverse plant communities at the facility. UCSC also collected flora and fauna from the site for its arboretum, one of the largest and well known in the world. The CEMEX plant earned the Forest Stewardship Council Smartwood Certification from the Rain Forest Alliance for the management of its 9,000-acre forest, which includes the annual planting of 20,000 redwood seedlings. Additionally, the plant maintains Habitat Conservation Plan protected areas, including streams that are home to the threatened Coho salmon and steelhead trout.

The Cement Industry Energy & Environmental Awards honor individual cement facilities that exemplify the spirit of continuous environmental improvement and support this spirit with action.  These plants go beyond government regulations and local laws to ensure that their processes contributed to making their communities better places to live and work.  

“Cement companies take very seriously their responsibilities to towns where their employees and customers live,” said Brian McCarthy, PCA president/CEO. “The awards program recognizes these ongoing efforts to continuously challenge manufacturing policies and procedures to minimize our environmental footprint.”

History of the Awards
The awards program was created in 2000 by the Portland Cement Association as part of its renewed environment and energy strategic plan for the U.S. cement industry.  PCA and Cement Americas magazine presented the first Cement Industry Environmental Awards in 2002 to the winners for 2001.  The awards honor activities conducted during the previous calendar year, and the program is open to any cement manufacturing plant in North America.  Judges for the awards represent independent groups such as Cement Americas magazine, the Cement Association of Canada, World Resources Institute, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the World Wildlife Fund.

About PCA
Based in Skokie, Ill., the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States and Canada. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs.

# # #