The Cement Industry Paves the Way to Net-Zero Emissions

Laying the foundation for change

According to the World Economic Forum, global cement manufacturing accounts for approximately 8% of worldwide CO2 emissions. Global cement emissions have more than doubled since 2000, increasing from 700 million metric tons in 2000 to 1.6 billion metric tons in 2022. Based on the current trajectory, emissions are projected to rise to 3.8 billion tons per year by 2050 when compared to 2022.¹

To understand the environmental impact, let us examine the decarbonization challenges faced by the cement industry. Firstly, the manufacturing process itself contributes significantly. Limestone, a main raw material, is heated with clay at very high temperatures, producing calcium oxide (lime) and releasing carbon dioxide. This is then converted into clinker, which serves as a key ingredient in cement production. The production of clinker, the primary binding agent in cement, accounts for 80%-90% of cement manufacturing emissions:²

CaCO₃ (limestone) + heat → CaO (lime) + CO₂

Secondly, the heating process needed to produce clinker predominantly relies on fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas, which further directly contribute to carbon emissions.

Additionally, with the demand for global growth and developing economies scaling up their infrastructure, cement demand is projected to increase by 20% between 2022 and 2050,³ making it even more critical and challenging to reduce emissions as production scales up.

Transforming environmental responsibility

Cement manufacturers, like other industries, produce significant quantities of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Many companies are taking necessary steps toward delivering net-zero concrete for the world.

Established in 2018, the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) accounts for 80%⁴ of cement production worldwide outside of China. This group was formed to drive sustainability in the sector, promote innovation, and support the industry’s transition to net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. Based on the GHG Protocol and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines, the GCCA has developed the Cement CO₂ and Energy Protocol, which offers tools and guidelines for cement companies to measure and report their CO₂ emissions and energy usage.⁵ These guidelines help cement manufacturers measure their carbon reduction progress and establish transparency while communicating with stakeholders.

The cement industry is exploring various technological pathways to achieve decarbonization:

• Direct carbon capture
• Replacing limestone with noncarbonate materials
• Switching to low-carbon fuel alternatives
• Fostering new approaches to circularity
• Electrification using renewable energy

Many of our cement manufacturing customers are pioneering low-carbon transition research and embracing innovation to achieve their net-zero goals with the help of our ULTRUS™ Sustainability platform through UL 360 software. UL 360 software helps our customers measure their sustainability performance through streamlined environmental, social and governance (ESG) data collection. They can then visualize this information through dynamic dashboards and create reports according to cement regulation standards. Our UL 360 software also helps customers track various sustainability targets, such as Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) goals.

Here are a few other key targets our manufacturing customers focus on to enhance their sustainability, operations and growth:

• Switching from limestone to low-carbonate materials - One of our customers has developed a low-carbon cement product under a unique brand name, which reduces approximately one-third of the emissions associated with conventional cement. This low-carbon brand features a sustainability fact label that outlines the product’s environmental attributes, providing detailed explanations to help consumers understand the benefits of each feature. Other customers are also working to reduce the clinker content in their cement and concrete by substituting it with low-carbon materials such as slag and fly ash.
• Circularity - Our customers are rethinking production processes and product design to enhance durability and enable repurposing at the end of the life cycle. For instance, reusing recovered demolition waste reduces the amount of new concrete required, thereby decreasing the demand for new primary materials such as cement and aggregates.
• Using alternative fuels - One of our customers is using alternative fuels derived from nonprimary materials such as waste or by-products, which can include biomass sources like animal fat, wood and paper. Through ULTRUS UL 360 software, the organization was able to measure the usage of different types of alternative fuels. With the data aggregated at the group level, it was possible to make informed decisions, and as a result, 50% of the company’s cement plants in Europe now operate exclusively using these alternative fuels.

Leading with transparency

The cement sector must reduce emissions by 4% annually between 2020 and 2030 to align with the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero by 2050 Scenario.6 The production of clinker, the primary binding agent in cement, accounts for 80%-85% of cement manufacturing emissions, ⁷ which are Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

• Scope 1 emissions occur from the calcination of limestone to produce clinker.
• Scope 2 emissions occur from the combustion of fossil fuels to produce clinker.
• Scope 3 emissions for upstream and downstream are based on materiality boundaries.

Table: Sources of direct and indirect emissions from GCCA’s sustainability guidelines for monitoring and reporting of CO2 emissions.⁸

Further, the GHG Protocol mandates the disclosure of key performance indicators, including:

• Clinker-to-cement ratio
• Raw material supply (quarrying, mining and crushing)
• Preparation of raw materials, fuels and additives
• Kiln operation (pyro-processing)
• Cement grinding and blending
• On-site (internal) transport and power generation

With evolving regulations under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and sustainability standards of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), it is increasingly vital for companies to report on their sustainability performance.

How UL Solutions can help

If you work in a high-emitting sector, such as cement, and are looking for ways to collect, measure and audit sustainability data, please schedule a complimentary demonstration to learn more about how our award-winning ULTRUS UL 360 ESG and Sustainability software can help your organization.

_{1. World Economic Forum. (2024, Sept.). Cement is a big problem for the environment. Here’s how to make it more sustainable. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/09/cement-production-sustainable-concrete-co2-emissions}

_{2. Gibbs, M. J., Soyka, P., & Conneely, D. (n.d.). CO₂ emissions from cement production. In Good practice guidance and uncertainty management in national greenhouse gas inventories (pp. 175–182). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Retrieved from https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/gp/bgp/3_1_Cement_Production.pdf}

_{3. Science Based Targets initiative. (n.d.). Cement sector guidance. https://sciencebasedtargets.org/sectors/cement}

_{4. Global Cement and Concrete Association. (n.d.). Purpose & mission. https://gccassociation.org/about-us/purpose-mission/}

_{5. Cement Sustainability Initiative. (n.d.). Cement CO₂ protocol. https://www.cement-co2-protocol.org/en/index.htm}

_{6. Science Based Targets initiative. (n.d.). Cement sector guidance. https://sciencebasedtargets.org/sectors/cement}

_{7. Cong, J., Hoyos, I., Mishra, S., Ogawa, H., Riaz, H., Tatsuno, S., Kim, H. R., & Wagner, G. (2024, Oct. 17). Decarbonizing cement [Presentation slide 5]. Columbia Business School. https://business.columbia.edu/sites/default/files-efs/imce-uploads/CKI/Documents/CKI%20Cement-241017.pdf}

_{8. Global Cement and Concrete Association. (2023). Sustainability guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of CO₂ emissions from cement manufacturing (Version 4, Amended). https://gccassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GCCA_Guidelines_CO2Emissions_v04_AMEND.pdf}