A CSR strategy organized around 3 pillars

CSR as the backbone of development

Since its creation in 2016, Hoffmann Green has focused its efforts on developing new clinker-free low carbon cements, thus contributing to decarbonation. The company, by the very nature of its activity, addresses the issues related to CO2 emissions. Thus, the more Hoffmann Green produces, the more CO2 emissions will be avoided, and the more resources will be conserved.

 

As a young company, Hoffmann Green has been committed since its creation to a progressive approach to build a global CSR strategy. In 2020 and 2021, external evaluations have provided an overview of the challenges facing Hoffmann Green.

Key Numbers

4619.8
tons of CO2 avoided in 2021 due to the use of Hoffmann cements

The tons of CO2 avoided are calculated by the CO2 gain obtained by replacing a traditional cement, according to the current cement consumption mix, by a decarbonated cement without clinker from Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies.

8187
tons of extracted limestone avoided in 2021

In 2021, the use of Hoffmann Green cement without clinker avoided the extraction of 1435 tons of limestone that would have been necessary for an equivalent production with traditional cement.

Hoffmann Green's CSR policy

Hoffmann Green’s new clinker-free low carbon cements aim to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction sector. However, the company’s activities involve it in other aspects. Since its creation, Hoffmann Green has been committed to developing a global and progressive CSR approach to support the company’s development.

A policy today organized around three axes.

  • RESPONSIBLE PRODUCER Responsible producer, which means minimizing the footprint on the environment and preserving resources.
  • RESPONSIBLE EMPLOYER Being a responsible employer means ensuring optimal conditions for the development of new jobs and new professions linked to the company's activity. It also means working on employee health and safety issues.
  • RESPONSIBLE PARTNER Being a responsible partner means putting quality at the centre of the approaches. It also means thinking about modes of governance to meet the expectations of all stakeholders.

In 2020, Hoffmann Green produced a first report of extra-financial data to be found in the 2020 annual report.

Reducing the carbon footprint

Reducing the carbon footprint of cement

Cement production alone accounts for 5 to 7% of the world’s CO2 emissions. The new 0% clinker cements developed by Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies make it possible to reduce CO2 emissions by a factor of almost 5 compared with traditional Portland cement (CEM I) thanks to a new industrial cold activation process without a hoven.

Reducing the company's carbon footprint through a specific freight policy

According to the company’s Carbon Footprint ®, upstream freight in tanker trucks accounts for 10% of the total emissions of the activity. To reduce this footprint, Hoffmann Green is developing a policy of diversifying its sourcing by focusing on proximity. The optimization of the transport of upstream materials (industrial co-products) is systematically taken into account in the company’s development plan. Thus, the location strategy for future production units integrates the proximity of maritime, river or rail transport hubs for supply.

A commitment to reforestation to store carbon

For its contribution to carbon sinks, Hoffmann Green signed a partnership with Reforest’Action in 2018. As part of this partnership, Hoffmann Green Cement has supported the planting of 10,000 trees during the 2019-2020 season in Occitania. Certified B Corp, Reforest’Action is a company with a social vocation created in 2010 by Stéphane Hallaire, whose primary mission is to raise awareness and act for forests: to make as many people as possible aware of the power of forests and the need to protect them, to act by preserving and restoring forests in France and around the world.

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Preserve natural resources

Favouring green electricity

Hoffmann Green produces and consumes almost a quarter of its energy needs directly at its production site using solar trackers. To supplement this self-consumption, Hoffmann Green signed a contract in 2020 to purchase green electricity from Engie to cover 100% of its consumption by 2021.

Reducing the use of natural resources

All solutions are clinker-free. Hoffmann cements only use co-products (blast furnace slag, clay slurry, gypsum and defulsogypsum) as raw material. Thus 1 ton of Hoffmann cement produced avoids the extraction of 0.81 tons of limestone from the soil. At full production (50,000 tons), the pilot plant alone will therefore avoid the extraction of nearly 40,000 tons of limestone per year compared to the use of traditional cements.

Reducing the quantity of industrial waste

Entirely based on the principles of circular economy, Hoffmann’s cement production valorizes industrial by-products which become the main raw material for decarbonated cements. A virtuous approach applied at each stage of production which itself generates no waste. Incoming products are delivered by truck, stored in tanks, and pass through the production line on automated conveyors. No packaging is used in this way.

Developing new qualitative industrial jobs

Systematic annual individual interviews with each employee

The individual interviews allow us to take stock of each employee’s position and their potential changes and training needs. Given the young age and size of the company (21 employees in 2020, 33 in 2021), each position is new and unique. Each employee has a specific area of expertise and defined responsibilities.

Distribution of free shares to all employees

Following the IPO, the members of Hoffmann Green’s Board of Directors wanted to involve all employees in the future development of the company. All Hoffmann Green employees are shareholders of the company. Thus 0.2% of the capital is held by the employees.

Focus on long-term employment

Hoffmann Green favours long-term employment with a predominant share of permanent contracts (90,9%), which allows the company to build long-term relationships between the company and its employees. All employees are on long-term contracts, the rest are apprenticeship contracts that allow for the gradual integration and training of young workers.

Acting for health and safety in the workplace

Implementation of an occupational health and safety management system

The start-up of the first pilot plant was accompanied by the implementation of a safety policy under the responsibility of the operations manager. The production teams were called upon to establish, thanks to their feedback, “safety” criteria adapted to the production process.

Dust management in the plant

Dust control has been specifically treated to ensure air quality for operators in the plant. Thus the whole production is done in a closed process to limit the contact of air with the products. In December 2019, an assessment of dust exposure was carried out by CARSAT in order to have an inventory and actions to be implemented on this subject in the first pilot plant.

Guaranteeing quality

Continuous customer-oriented quality control

In order to guarantee the quality of these new cements, Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has implemented a quality control system at each stage of production. To coordinate this monitoring and guarantee the same level of standards, various recruitments have been specifically carried out.

Development of the quality laboratory

The year 2021 was marked by the development of the quality laboratory with the arrival of new people to form a fully-fledged team in direct contact with the production teams. A new laboratory has been installed at the production site to optimize quality monitoring. The new equipment deployed as well as the quality monitoring methodology made it possible to obtain AFNOR certification for H-IONA cements.

Validation of Technical Evaluation of Products and Materials (ETPM)

Carried out by the Scientific and Technical Center for Building (CSTB), the ETPM guarantees durability (carbonation, freeze/thaw, sulfatic attack) and resistance (compression, traction, fire, steel/concrete adhesion, shear). These ETPM allow Hoffmann Green to obtain the Appréciations Techniques d’Expérimentation (ATEx). Created at the initiative of the CSTB and the construction industry, the ATEx is a rapid technical evaluation procedure formulated by a group of experts on any innovative product, process or equipment.