The Serbian Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has received an automatic air quality monitoring station from cement producer CRH Serbia in order to constantly monitor this key environmental indicator air quality in Popovac in the municipality of Paraćin.

SEPA and CRH Serbia have recently signed an agreement on establishing cooperation concerning air protection sector. The station enables continuous monitoring of air quality in Popovac, where CRH Serbia’s cement production facility is located. The results can be tracked 24 hours a day on the agency’s website, as well as through an app.

CRH Serbia is committed to protecting the environment and the principles of sustainable development, said Roman Menz, CEO of CRH Serbia, noting that this step is to demonstrate the company’s responsibility to the local community and a full transparency of its activities and impact. In addition, CRH Serbia believes that independent monitoring is very important for the local community in which it operates and that in this way the local community can be assured of good air quality in the area, he said.

The company invested EUR 120,000 in the construction and installation of the automatic air quality monitoring station in 2012.

Filip Radović, director of SEPA, said that the agreement with CRH Serbia is a positive example of how the state and the private sector can jointly improve the state of the environment in Serbia.

Air monitoring is very important, as only public and transparent data can help improve air quality, Radović said.

Radović hopes other companies to follow suit

Radović added that experience from all over the globe shows that companies which embraced environmental standards are more competitive on the international market in the medium and long term since environmental standards promote innovation and modernization of procedures and products and lead to cleaner technologies.

“I hope the agreement will encourage other companies to follow this example,” Radović noted.

CRH operates in 37 countries around the world and is one of the largest companies in the global construction materials industry. In addition to the cement plant, CRH Serbia has two concrete production factories near Belgrade, in Krnjača and Dobanovci.