Azerbaijan: Gypsum producers achieved a total output of 13,000t of gypsum in the first eight months of 2020, up by 1.3% year-on-year from 12,800t over the corresponding period of 2019. Total building materials production fell by 1.8% in value to US$293m from US$298m.

India: France-based Saint-Gobain has opened a 600-bed coronavirus hospital in a converted office building in Surat, Gujarat. The total building time for the project was just 17 days, which the company said was ‘due to the choice of materials, namely gypsum wallboard over bricks and mortar.’ The Hindu BusinessLine newspaper has reported that the company used 4830m² of gypsum wallboard to build partition walls throughout the eight-storey building, in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

France: Saint-Gobain is among 157 businesses which signed a letter to European Union (EU) members’ governments urging the enactment of higher 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The letter calls on all EU leaders to target a reduction of 55% by 2030 in line with the European Green deal.

Chair and chief executive officer (CEO) Pierre-André de Chalendar said, “The right decisions now can help create and protect healthy, thriving and fair communities and secure a roadmap for a prosperous economy. From a business and investor perspective, clarity on the net zero transition pathway and timetables for each sector - as well as policy that enables substantial investments in carbon neutral solutions - is essential. This in turn would provide us with the confidence needed to invest decisively at the necessary pace and scale to reduce emissions, create decent green jobs, drive innovation, and accelerate the rebuilding of a resilient zero carbon economy."

Azerbaijan: Gypsum producers achieved volumes of 12,100t in the first half of 2020, up by 130% year-on-year from 5250t in the half of 2019. The total value of construction materials sales over the period fell by 4.8% to US$251m from US$264m.