Cement manufacturing requires significant thermal energy. For most of the industry’s history, that energy has come primarily from fossil fuels. Verdera is our answer to a different approach: a co-processing program that evaluates, qualifies, and repurposes non-hazardous industrial byproducts and waste materials as alternative fuels and raw material inputs in cement production. The result is a supply chain that does more than produce cement. It gives industrial waste a productive second life while reducing the carbon intensity of our operations.
Verdera is operated through St Marys Cement and reflects Votorantim Cimentos’ broader sustainability commitments across North American operations. It is not a marketing position, but an active program with technical evaluation processes, regulatory oversight, and measurable outcomes.
Industrial and manufacturing operations generate substantial volumes of byproducts and residual materials that are difficult to manage responsibly. Landfill disposal is often the default, but it carries long-term environmental costs and represents a missed opportunity to recover the energy value embedded in those materials.
Co-processing offers an alternative. By scientifically evaluating byproducts for suitability as alternative fuels or raw material substitutes, we can divert materials from landfill disposal and put them to productive use inside the cement manufacturing process. The cement kiln’s high-temperature environment, which routinely reaches temperatures above 1,400 degrees Celsius, is well-suited to safely processing a range of materials that would otherwise require energy-intensive disposal methods.
Our VC Way principle of Sustainable Legacy means taking responsibility for the long-term environmental impact of how we operate, not just the immediate output of what we produce. Verdera is one concrete expression of that commitment.
Not every material qualifies for our Verdera operations. We conduct thorough technical assessments of each candidate material, evaluating environmental benefit, emissions performance, supply chain logistics, and the potential carbon impact of transporting materials to our facilities. Materials that clear those assessments and meet regulatory requirements are approved for use as alternative fuels or raw material substitutes in our kilns.
Materials we evaluate include non-recyclable plastics, paper, textiles, biomass, and other industrial byproducts that meet applicable environmental and safety standards. Traditional cement manufacturing relies on naturally occurring raw materials such as limestone, shale, clay, sand, and iron ore to provide the calcium, aluminum, silica, and iron the process requires. When qualified byproducts from other industries can supply those same elements, they become a legitimate and more ecological alternative to virgin extraction.
Our VC Way principle of Acting with Ownership guides us in treating environmental stewardship as our direct responsibility. We look at what our operations consume, what our industry generates, and ask how we can compensate for what we have taken. Verdera is part of the answer to that question.
For our operations, approved alternative fuels replace a portion of the fossil fuels used to heat our kilns, cutting emissions without cutting performance.
For industrial partners, Verdera provides a documented, responsible end-of-life pathway for byproduct materials that are otherwise difficult to manage.
Materials qualify based on environmental impact, availability, and the technology available to monitor them. VCNA ensures all processes follow regulations and maintain product quality. Traditional feedstocks remain primary, with byproducts filling gaps when suitable.
