A Partner of Choice for sustainability
Imerys minerals are found in over thirty industrial sectors, serving as essential ingredients in a broad range of applications—from cosmetics and construction to energy transition initiatives. In these fields, regulations and client expectations are increasingly stringent regarding environmental protection and health standards. Our goal is to help our clients get the most out of our solutions by enhancing their positive contributions to society and responsibly managing any potential negative effects throughout their entire life cycle.
Our priority is to help our customers make the best decisions to create sustainable value that aligns with tomorrow’s challenges. As of today, 65% of our products have an eco-profile, and over 75% of our new developments are evaluated against sustainability criteria.
3 questions for Emmanuelle Henry-Lanier, Climate & Portfolio Sustainability VP
At Imerys, product portfolio sustainability means assessing and developing our solutions with a close eye on environmental protection, human rights, and responsible business conduct, all aligned with international standards. Independent evaluations and ratings help us understand our policies, commitments, efforts, and the results—not just at Imerys, but across our entire value chain.
These efforts are guided by key performance indicators, for example, the percentage of our current portfolio assessed against these criteria, or the share of new product developments (NPDs) incorporating sustainability parameters. This data helps us steer our portfolio and gauge our progress over time.
Our customers demand strict compliance with standards, along with accurate, detailed information about our products, their production conditions, and their environmental and social impacts. Through proven processes—like sustainability questionnaires, dedicated data platforms, environmental assessment tools, and on-demand site audits—we ensure the traceability and transparency they need. This reliable information allows our clients to incorporate these insights into their own assessments, whether for Scope 3 inventories (value chain emissions) or Environmental Product Declarations, helping them make informed decisions and enhance the sustainability of their supply chains.
Today, our clients strive to balance traditional costs with the environmental and social implications of their choices. To support them, we use tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the SustainAgility™ Solutions Assessment methodology, which compare various options and quantify their impacts. Our goal is to provide an objective framework that enables customers to select products that are more environmentally and socially efficient, without sacrificing technical performance.
With this in mind, we offer Pioneer-labeled products. Over the past three years, 43 of our portfolio solutions have earned this rigorous internal label, representing 6% of the Group’s revenue. These products stand out for their reduced environmental footprint and tangible benefits, helping customers address decarbonization challenges and enhance the societal impact of their activities.
Technical insights from Gisèle Cassaing, Corporate Portfolio Sustainability manager
We provide our customers with reliable assessments using tools and methodologies such as Life Cycle Assessment, compliant with ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, to offer a detailed and comparative view of a product’s environmental impacts from raw material extraction through to the factory gate. Our SustainAgility™ Solutions Assessment methodology complements this analysis by offering a proven framework for evaluating both environmental and social dimensions.
Several initiatives highlight our commitment. In Northern Europe, for instance, we now use inland barges powered by HVO100 (hydrotreated vegetable oil) instead of fossil fuel, significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions. At our Andersonville site in the United States, we use peanut shells as a renewable biomass source, turning agricultural waste into energy while lowering our production’s carbon footprint. Additionally, through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), we secure access to low-carbon, renewable electricity for our sites. These are just a few examples of how Imerys’ teams improve the environmental performance of our operations and products—and ultimately help reduce GHG emissions within the products full value chain.
The Pioneer label spotlights products that achieve the optimal balance between performance and environmental footprint, helping customers quickly identify solutions best suited to their sustainability goals. With verifiable data and tangible examples at hand, customers can make well-informed strategic decisions—whether adjusting initial specifications, developing a more sustainable product range, or optimizing delivery logistics.
The Pioneer label and related initiatives go beyond regulatory compliance or good intentions; they serve as concrete performance indicators, allowing customers to make more informed trade-offs between cost, operational benefits, and environmental impact.
Using peanut shells as a source of energy? This is one approach we are implementing through our decarbonization lever: Fuel switching and Biomass use. We have launched a comprehensive program to identify, assess and implement projects to switch from fossil fuels, such as coal and heavy fuel oil, to natural gas (a fossil energy source that releases lower GHG emissions) and to biomass waste.
We’ll take you on a journey to America, Europe, the Middle East and China to discover some of our initiatives!
Are you ready to explore how low-carbon and renewable electricity can drive our journey to be compatible with the 1.5°C trajectory? As one of our five key decarbonization levers, it has the potential to reduce half of the emissions we need to achieve our -42% reduction target.
Let's dive into renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and the low impact electricity installations and projects we are deploying across the Group.
For this second article on our journey to 1.5°C, you will learn about our energy efficiency and recovery projects, which are expected to represent up to 20% of the Group’s emissions reduction potential by 2030. Join us on an immersion tour across some of our sites to discover some best practices and initiatives.
Over a year ago, we committed to align our activities with the most ambitious climate science scenario: limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Through a series of articles, we will present our Climate Change ambition and strategy, the levers we focus on to get there and the progress we have already made.