The end of September saw over 800 delegates from 66 countries gather at the tip of the African continent for the 8th International conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). With representatives from academia, non-governmental organisations, local government agencies, business and the United Nations, the focus was very much on restoring land, water and community resilience, and laying the path towards the UN decade on ecosystem restoration, which starts in 2021. Building on a developing partnership with SER, HeidelbergCement was proud to sponsor the international conference for a second time.

But the involvement did not end there, as HeidelbergCement also delivered a special symposium in partnership with BirdLife International, on the importance of mineral extraction sites in contributing to restoring land and reversing biodiversity loss, but also in improving the livelihood of their neighbours.

Partaking in the conference had two major outcomes: firstly in terms of knowledge gain and secondly through raising awareness about the company’s biodiversity strategy including the Quarry Life Award.

Mixing with academics from across the world for four days, allowed HeidelbergCement´s in-house ecologists to acquire broader knowledge of relevant restoration techniques for post-extraction activities, which can be subsequently shared across their operations. Furthermore, it sparked new ideas for projects that could be developed across HeidelbergCement for example in the matter of erosion control at their African sites. HeidelbergCement was also being referenced by externals as a leader in best practice biodiversity management.

HeidelbergCement´s stand in the exhibition hall was primarily advertising the next Edition of the Quarry Life Award, which will be in 2021, but also enabled the company to showcase wider sustainability work. This included their Sustainability Commitments 2030, which gave visitors inspiration into incorporating the UN Sustainable Development Goals into their strategies. Many of the visitors seemed to acknowledge that industries are proactively taking steps to reduce and mitigate their impact on the environment, and HeidelbergCement was able to change people’s perception to understand that quarrying and nature can actually go hand in hand.

The conference was a great success and HeidelbergCement looks forward to continuing their collaboration with SER through their proposed African network and Invasive Alien Species thematic group.

More information on the Society for Ecological Restoration
More information on the Quarry Life Award
More Information on HeidelbergCement´s Sustainability Commitments 2030