Construction World August 2021

READYMIX

The rapidly changing business environment has shown companies that they should put contributing to the improvement of the socio-economic circumstances of the communities in which they operate at the core of their values. SHARING THE PPC AFRICA SUSTAINABILITY MODEL W hile these contributions help to enhance their reputation, it shows that they are locally relevant and responsive to the needs of their existence with our communities through potable water provision, healthcare and education as well as infrastructure development amongst others,” says Aili Zeeman, Lead SHEQ International. PPC Africa pursues opportunities to empower communities through

communities and contributes positively to the morale of their employees. PPC Africa recognises this and has incorporated it into its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) strategy. The company would like to shed light on its sustainability model and the impact it has been making in the countries we have a presence in. The company is a material and solutions provider of quality and consistent cement, aggregates, metallurgical-grade lime, burnt dolomite, limestone, ready-mix and fly ash. The business which is headquartered in South Africa has a footprint across Africa, in South Africa, Botswana, DRC, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. PPC Africa is a leading supplier of materials and solutions into the basic services sector in Africa and operates 11 cement factories with a production capacity of around 11,6 million tonnes of cement products every year. PPC Africa has a rich 129-year legacy dedicated to creating value for its stakeholders. It has been an integral part of the development of the continent and values the importance of not only engaging and collaborating with communities in which it operates but to ensure that it makes a positive and sustainable impact on them. Through CSI, we aim to assist, benefit and empower marginalised individuals and communities, using a strong developmental approach that utilises company resources for the benefit of individuals and communities. Our CSI philosophy is guided by our approach to sustainability, a focus on Environment, Social development and governance. Finding the right balance among these three dimensions has contributed to our success on the continent. Without sustainability, PPC Africa would not have been able to celebrate over 120 years of existence. CSI acts as a platform upon which to promote our purpose, values and brand to key stakeholders. “I define sustainability as taking stern action now with a futuristic view for the benefit of generations to come without compromising the current generation. At PPC we ensure this through economical resource planning in terms of our raw material, pollution prevention, reducing carbon footprint through various initiatives including product innovation as well as research and development. Social development is vital to drive sustainability. We strive to achieve this pillar by creating a co-inherent

social investment underpinned by our REAL approach where our interventions should thrive to be relevant, to add value to affected stakeholders and promote community health, safety and security; empowering, in that we must make a noticeable difference, bridging socio-economic gaps whilst protecting and preserving local cultural heritage; actualised, in that it must be realistic and achievable; and lasting, sustainable and maintainable. The philosophy of shared valued anchors the corporate social investment (CSI) strategy of the business. This ensures that there is sustainable and constant growth in the communities where we operate in making business sense for key stakeholders in those communities, the government and the company. Therefore, we settled for five key strategic pillars in our approach to our programmes in our African markets which are Education, Health, Enterprise development (with special focus on women and youth), Environmental protection and Sustainable infrastructure development. We designed these pillars to ensure that PPC empowers the communities that we operate through, changing people's lives and preserving the environment for future generations. Over several articles, we aim to showcase how PPC has been true to these principles in its businesses in Zimbabwe, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We aim to shed light on PPC Africa's CSI projects and the impact they are making in the respective countries that they operate. Zimbabwe is a natural starting point in our journey because of its historical significance, and that PPC is a significant part of the growth of the country for over 125 years. From a small plant constructed in 1913 on the outskirts of Bulawayo to an additional plant in Colleen Bawn in 1946 and the ultra-modern Msasa plant in Harare in 2017, PPC Zimbabwe has played a significant role in growing the country's economy. PPC Zimbabwe has produced cement for many of Zimbabwe's iconic landmarks such as Victoria Falls, Kariba Dam, Harare International Airport, the NRZ Building, Lake Mutirikwi and many construction projects to date. In line with its CSI strategy, PPC Zimbabwe has several initiatives in the

22 CONSTRUCTION WORLD AUGUST 2021