- RESEARCH 2026
- IKEA’s Ilegal deforestation , Carphantian Mountains ROMANIA
Belgium hosts several major concrete and cement plants, such as CCB Obourg, Haccourt, Espabel and Holcim, with a total capacity of over 1.5 million tons/year.
These plants produce blast furnace slag cement and ready-mix concrete, often using alternative fuels (e.g., municipal waste) to reduce environmental impact. For example, the Obourg plant co-processes waste from nearby towns, cutting thermal energy use by over 20% and reducing dust/NOx emissions with advanced filtersglobalcement.com.
Concrete production contributes to air pollution (dust, NOx), noise pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, which disproportionately affect marginalized and nearby communities. Workers and residents may face health issues like respiratory problems, hearing loss, and stress from prolonged exposure to noise and pollutants.
Belgium’s concrete factories, like CCB and Holcim, produce cement and concrete using alternative fuels (such as municipal waste) to cut emissions. However, they still impact nearby communities through air and noise pollution, causing health issues like respiratory problems and stress for residents and workers.
This project will end through a photo exhibit of the human stories and the environmental sides of concrete making.
This project will end through a photo exhibit of the human stories and the environmental sides of concrete making.
How pollution becomes legal
Environmental standards appear objective. They are laid down in laws, permits, and limit values.
But historical research shows that such standards often emerge from long-term interactions between government and industry.
Researchers describe five recurring patterns:
- Companies often possess more technical knowledge than regulators.
- Permits and regulations are frequently developed in consultation with industry.
- Governments are economically dependent on large industrial employers.
- Oversight and responsibility are divided across multiple institutions.
- Discussions shift from health risks to legal norms and permits.
Through this dynamic, industrial pollution can persist for decades without formally violating rules. Researchers therefore speak of a “regime of permission”: a system in which pollution does not disappear, but is regulated and normalized. The emissions on the previous pages take place within the limits of permits and legal standards.
These standards determine how much pollution is legally allowed.
How these limits are established, however, is not only a technical or scientific question, but also an administrative and economic one.
Source: Van Wingerde, Bisschop, Verbeek & Le Sage, Regulation & Governance, 2026.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening,” he says. “In twenty-five years of political reporting, I had never been lied to as often as in the first two months at Tata. And no matter what you throw at them — they get away with everything.” Journalist Bart Vuijk
The stories grew heavier, and the work increasingly lonely. “There were threats. My address was shared in Facebook groups of Tata employees. Sometimes they were literally standing in front of my door.” Through a friendly employee, he received a screenshot of a plan to intimidate him on a daily basis. “The police then went to those people. At three in the morning. After that, it stopped.