Canada: Lafarge Canada has made a donation of US$37,500-worth of its ECOPact reduced-CO₂ concrete to the site of an upcoming recreation ground in Pic Mobert First Nation Reserve, Ontario. The US$562,000-facility will serve 1000 local people.

Lafarge Canada's Hemlo ready-mix concrete plant manager Jared Paris said "For over 20 years, Lafarge's Hemlo plant has been operating and servicing the traditional lands of the Pic Mobert First Nation, supplying concrete for new homes, a water treatment plant and many other projects. The US$562,000 project on the Pic Mobert First Nation reserve is being sponsored by a number of companies, including Lafarge Canada customers, showing their support for this indigenous community."

US: CR Minerals has signed a contract with mining company Rio Tinto for the supply of mineral waste from the latter's subsidiary US Borax's boron mining operations in California. CR Minerals will use the waste to produce pozzolans to replace cement in local concrete production.

CR Minerals president Jeffrey Whidden said "We have been working with Rio Tinto for several years now to bring this concept to life. Taking what was once considered waste streams and turning them into usable products for the construction materials industry is part of the vision of our company."

Spain: Holcim has introduced its EcoPact Prime concrete and mortar range, following a strong reception in other European markets, including Switzerland, Germany and France. The EcoPact Prime range is presented as a sustainable portfolio of concrete and mortar products offering a 70% reduction in CO₂ compared to equivalents based on ordinary Portland cement (OPC).

Manuel Barrero, director of the concrete activity at LafargeHolcim Spain, said “Decarbonisation is a fundamental pillar of our business strategy. Therefore, in our objective to develop materials and solutions that allow us to build better with less, we are going one step further by introducing this new product to the Spanish market.”

All the products in the EcoPact Prime range have their own Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). They incorporate low-emission cements, also from the EcoPlanet range, selected aggregates, additions, water, special additives and use electrical energy generated from renewable sources in their manufacture.

The products are intended for the construction of all structural elements, including beams, walls, floors, foundations or pillars, as well as self-compacting structures, those that need to drain and those that need to exhibit particular aesthetic qualities.

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos Spain has completed its acquisition of Heidelberg Materials' businesses in the south of Spain. Under the deal, Votorantim Cimentos Spain gains control of FYM's 1.6Mt/yr Málaga cement plant, as well as three aggregates quarries and 11 ready-mix concrete plants in Andalusia.

Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos' Europe, Asia and Africa CEO Jorge Wagner said “This acquisition is fully aligned with our strategy, reinforces our presence in the Iberian Peninsula to better serve our customers and creates significant synergies with our existing assets. Besides this, it will be key to accelerating our decarbonisation journey to achieve our 2030 Sustainability Commitments."

Votorantim Cimentos Spain operates a mortar plant and multiple concrete batching and aggregates plants across Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Castile and León, Extremadura and Galicia.