Sustainable construction, CSR, sovereignty: UNICEM places mineral materials at the heart of territorial challenges

Placed under the theme "Materials and territories: issues and challenges", these two days provided an opportunity to compare perspectives on the major challenges facing France: building more housing, accelerating the ecological transition, strengthening industrial sovereignty, adapting territories to climate change and responding to new societal expectations.

Through several roundtables, discussions revealed a widely shared conviction: mineral materials are an essential component of sustainable construction and land-use planning. They also highlighted the need to strengthen dialogue between businesses and public authorities in order to develop collective solutions to these challenges.

UNICEM committed companies: Making CSR a driver of transformation for businesses and territories

The first day, organised by UNICEM committed companies, demonstrated that social responsibility is no longer a peripheral issue but a real lever for competitiveness and acceptability of industrial activities.

The discussions highlighted the momentum generated by the Mineral Industries CSR Label, which is now widely deployed within the industry. Tailored to the specific characteristics of the sector, the label was presented as a response to the major challenges facing the industry: mitigating and adapting to climate change, local integration, social issues, and increased transparency requirements, while also meeting the growing expectations of local communities, customers, and public authorities.

For example, in the ready-mix concrete sector, this dynamic is already reflected in 905 sites involved, representing 65% of members of the SNBPE.

Two round tables helped to broaden the discussion.

The first session, dedicated to the complementarities between local public policies and voluntary commitments, brought together representatives of the State, local authorities, and professionals around a shared observation: sector-specific CSR initiatives facilitate the implementation of public policies for ecological transition. They usefully complement regulatory requirements and enable the development, in synergy with local areas, of concrete solutions tailored to local realities.

The discussions made it possible to compare these approaches with several regional initiatives to support economic actors in the ecological transition, such as the Néo Terra roadmap in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, calls for expressions of interest aimed at referencing robust CSR approaches, or, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the Cedre Premiers Pas and Cedre Ambition scheme.

The second roundtable, dedicated to CSR initiatives as drivers of sustainable construction, brought together several industry partners to identify the conditions for improved cooperation among all stakeholders in the value chain. Participants emphasized the need to raise awareness of these initiatives among public and private project owners so that they become a genuine differentiating factor and a source of trust.

The presence of organizations such as the CPME, the FNTP, and Envirobat-BDM broadened the discussion to include the expectations of the entire construction and development sector. The discussions highlighted the relevance of sector-specific CSR approaches tailored to individual professions, as well as the need to strengthen educational efforts among public and private clients.

The debates thus made it possible to reaffirm the ambition carried by the sector: To obtain from the State the official recognition of sectoral CSR labels in order to strengthen the voluntary commitment of companies already involved and to encourage new structures, in particular SMEs, to join this dynamic.

According to Louis Natter, president of UNICEM, a group of committed companies: “Companies in our sector don’t wait for regulatory constraints to act. With the Mineral Industries CSR Label, they demonstrate that a voluntary, demanding, and collective approach is a powerful lever for transformation serving local communities. We now hope that this commitment will be fully recognized and valued by public authorities and clients alike.”

UNICEM: Putting mineral materials back at the heart of societal challenges

The second day, organised by UNICEM, placed mineral materials in a broader perspective: that of the major societal choices that France is facing today.

Resources, concrete, sustainable development, sovereignty, transition: the discussions allowed for a cross-pollination of perspectives from field actors, experts and institutional representatives to better understand the challenges, constraints and solutions available to the territories.

A first round table, "Concrete, an essential material for territories for sustainable development", made it possible to overcome preconceived ideas about this material by highlighting its many evolutions discussed by Shift Project, Hept'Arts Architecture, the Federation of the Concrete Industry (FIB) and professionals in the sector.

The speakers noted that concrete, produced locally as close as possible to construction sites, continues to reduce its carbon footprint thanks to innovation, optimized formulations, and the development of new low-carbon solutions. For example, in Marseille, this proximity can translate into delivery distances of around 6 to 10 km, compared to a national average of around 18 km.

Its role in the durability of structures, the summer comfort of buildings, and the resilience of territories was also highlighted. Several speakers emphasized that the issue is not so much about banning a material but rather about using it more effectively: choosing the right material for the right place, considering its intended use, the local context, the lifespan of the structure, the overall cost, and its environmental impact.

The second round table, "Mineral resources: a matter of national sovereignty?", broadened the debate to include issues of supply and strategic independence.

Beyond just critical raw materials, the discussions highlighted that aggregates, ornamental rocks, clays and other mineral materials are essential for the construction of housing, infrastructure, networks, works related to the energy transition and the reindustrialization of the country.

This round table thus posed a central question: why exploit the mineral resource, under what conditions, and with what level of responsibility? The availability of resources, their non-renewable nature, conflicts of use, the needs of territories and the costs linked to massive imports were at the heart of the discussions.

The speakers stressed that local sourcing is a major issue in limiting transport, preserving the competitiveness of territories, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring the resilience of supply chains.

The BRGM reiterated the importance of better understanding, identifying and planning the resources available in French soils and subsoils, while the DREAL PACA stressed the need to find a balance between environmental protection and supply needs.

The discussions finally highlighted the continuous progress made by the profession in responsible production, recycling, biodiversity, water management and environmental innovation.

The intervention of ANEFA, the Spanish national association of aggregate producers, also put these issues into a European perspective: in several countries, mineral raw materials are now becoming a strategic issue, on par with other industrial resources.

This awareness also calls for better securing national supplies, while continuing the environmental transformation of the sector.

According to Alain Plantier, president of UNICEM: “Building more housing, reindustrializing the country, developing decarbonized energy sources, or adapting our territories to climate change requires locally produced materials. Mineral resources are therefore a matter of sovereignty that must now be placed at the heart of the public debate.”

A profession in motion facing the challenges of the territories

Through these two days of discussions, UNICEM illustrated the complementarity of its actions. With UNICEM committed companies, it supports companies in their environmental, societal and economic transformation; with the federation, it presents to decision-makers and all stakeholders a vision of the sector based on a strong conviction: mineral materials are essential for sustainable construction, the country's sovereignty and the development of territories.

Social responsibility, innovation, proximity, resource sovereignty, dialogue with stakeholders and cooperation between construction actors now constitute the foundations of a sector resolutely committed to serving a more sustainable, more resilient and more responsible construction.