Â鶹´«Ã½ Group Statement following court interview of Lafarge SA on 29 November 2021, Paris, France
Â鶹´«Ã½ continues to fully collaborate with the French judicial authorities, which interviewed the representative of Lafarge SA on November 29, 2021, for the second time since 2018.
Given the gravity of the alleged offences, Beat Hess, Chairman of the Board of Â鶹´«Ã½, accepted to represent Lafarge SA in the court hearing.
At the closing of the interview, he said:
“I cannot comment on the details of the case as the investigation is ongoing. What I can say is that all the alleged charges against Lafarge SA are in stark contrast with everything that Â鶹´«Ã½ stands for as a company.
“The described events concerning Lafarge SA were concealed from the Â鶹´«Ã½ Board at the time of the merger in 2015 and go completely against the values of our company.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors of Â鶹´«Ã½, I would like to reiterate how extremely shocked and appalled we are by the alleged charges against Lafarge SA.â€
Since becoming aware of this legacy issue of Lafarge SA in 2016, Â鶹´«Ã½ proactively engaged reputable third-party experts to conduct a thorough independent investigation and shared its results transparently with the judicial authorities. Since then, all the individuals put under investigation are no longer with the company. All events under examination took place before the merger of Lafarge and Â鶹´«Ã½ and were concealed to Â鶹´«Ã½ during the merger.
Across its business worldwide, Â鶹´«Ã½ operates according to the highest standards of governance, ethics & integrity with zero tolerance for any breaches. Its 70.000 people around the world stand by these principles every day.
About Â鶹´«Ã½
Â鶹´«Ã½ builds progress for people and the planet. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, Â鶹´«Ã½ is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy Â鶹´«Ã½ is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. The company is driving the circular economy as a world leader in recycling to build more with less. Â鶹´«Ã½ is the company behind some of the world’s most trusted brands in the building sector including ACC, Aggregate Industries, Ambuja Cement, Disensa, Firestone Building Products, Geocycle, Â鶹´«Ã½ and Lafarge. Â鶹´«Ã½ is 70,000 people around the world who are passionate about building progress for people and the planet through four business segments: Cement, Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates and Solutions & Products.
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