Breadcrumbs

12 November 2021

Monselice Cement Plant, dialogue and transparency in relations with the local community

In light of the most recent discussions with the Municipality of Monselice, concerning the request to install a silo for the use of iron oxides in the production cycle at the Monselice cement plant, necessary to improve the management of raw materials and reduce their impact on the environment, Buzzi Unicem is constantly receiving provocative attacks, bordering on intimidation, from some well-known local politicians, in the name of an alleged collective will of the local community.

We would like to recall once again that Buzzi Unicem submitted this request in full compliance with the rules governing administrative procedures; after waiting almost two years for the issue of a building permit, the company has had to solicit the Municipality also through legal actions - which it would have been glad to avoid - in order to obtain the acknowledgement of one of its rights.

As required by the regulations of the Parco dei Colli Euganei (The Euganean Hills Regional Park), the text of an agreement was discussed with the parties (Municipality of Monselice, Parco dei Colli Euganei, Company) regularly agreeing upon its content during the conference of services. The Company constructively contributed to its drafting, complying with the Municipality's many requests, only to have it disapproved and rejected by the same Municipality, receiving as an alternative a text focused on two disproportionate requests not pertinent to the object of the proposed project.  Among these, there was also the request, obviously unacceptable, to dismantle the production plant.

Why is it that, starting from a legitimate and responsible request for environmental improvement, such as a storage silo, they now want to force the cement plant to comply with constraints that have nothing to do with the request itself and that even contradict the continuation of an activity with the gradual reduction of its impacts?

A further crescendo of direct and indirect attacks, also through the press, focused the debate on ad hoc statements and prompted popular protests, seeking the political consensus from adjacent municipalities, attributing to the Company the specific intention to use in the production cycle of CSS a fuel resulting from the processing of municipal waste, duly processed downstream the separate collection.

However, the Company has not made any request in this regard, nor expressed any desire to do so, although it considers it to be, in principle, a sustainable practice.

Buzzi Unicem is an important Italian and international company with a family management that conducts its business protecting its employees and guaranteeing direct and indirect employment.
t complies with rules and laws, as every company should, and subjects itself to constant and strict checks on its activities.

Both for the Monselice cement plant and for the other Italian plants, Buzzi Unicem has repeatedly shown in various contexts, also confirmed by studies and in-depth analyses conducted by supervisory bodies, that its emission profile and related effects are perfectly compatible with the host territory, including that of a park.

In its day-to-day activities, the cement plant operates in a clear and environmentally sustainable manner, scientifically presenting its data, submitting it to the verification of public supervisory bodies, talking openly with the local community, associations, schools, opening its doors to visitors and contributing to the culture of truth.

Clearly, though some claim to be in favor of dialogue, such transparency is not something that is appreciated and, after years of misleading stories about the plant's production activities, regularly denied by all the environmental studies that have followed, one has to wonder what the political design is and what advantage there is to gain from constantly telling falsehoods about the cement plant.

All free citizens who think for themselves will be able to draw their own conclusions and work out their own ideas.

In the meantime, Buzzi Unicem will keep on working with pride and professionalism, facing with determination the upcoming challenges for decarbonization, so that our work can be even more human-friendly.

We would like to remind you that the Monselice plant is always open for visits, in compliance with anti-Covid protocols. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the cement production process and its impacts and in asking questions about it is more than welcome.

Should you wish to visit our cement plant, please write to: visitamonselice@buzziunicem.it