Cemex USA's Victorville cement plant in southern California recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and has received the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) Conservation Certification for its ongoing sustainability, environmental protection and land stewardship efforts.
WHC presented the Victorville plant with the certification 3 November during a ceremony at the 2016 WHC Conservation Conference in Baltimore. The designation means all Cemex USA’s cement plants in the USA are now WHC-certified and the company now has 18 WHC-certified sites in North America, of which 15 are in the USA.
WHC focusses on healthy ecosystems and connected communities. Cemex's WHC Conservation Certification programmes are mainly focussed on habitat restoration and sustainability. In 2013 two wind turbines were commissioned at the Victorville plant, generating electricity equivalent to the power requirements of more than 500 homes. The plant earned its fifth Energy Star certification this year for reducing its energy use and environmental impact. The Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District awarded Cemex USA’s Victorville plant operation the 2015/2016 Exemplar Award, the district’s highest honour for reducing carbon footprints.
The Victorville cement plant was established in 1916 and underwent extensive expansion in 1997 and 2001. During its history the plant has supplied cement for iconic projects like the Hoover Dam and Hollywood Boulevard.Today it has the capacity to produce more than 3Mta of cement to provide the building blocks for schools, roadways and homes across California, Nevada and Arizona.