Displaying items by tag: Emissions
Cement industry takes emissions seriously
22 May 2019Today is the first day of the Global FutureCem Conference taking place in Brussels, Belgium. The event is looking at how the cement industry can adapt to a low or zero carbon world. Although Global Cement is organising the event, it is clearly topical as two news stories this week demonstrate.
Firstly, the chief executive officers (CEO) from 13 US companies, including LarfargeHolcim, announced that they were lobbying the US government to enact business-led climate change legislation. The initiative, known as the CEO Climate Dialogue, included principles such as ‘significantly’ reducing US greenhouse gas emissions. This is shocking because, at face value, large-scale CO2 emitters like LafargeHolcim have the most to lose from more rigorous environmental regulations. What do they have to gain from doing this? This is like turkeys voting for Christmas!
Interpretations of why LafargeHolcim and others might want to do this could go in a few directions. Firstly, the intention might be fully plausible. These companies could genuinely want to combat climate change. Secondly, more cynically perhaps, leading demands for legislation puts the lobbyists in the room when change is actually made. Given the integral nature of concrete in modern construction this is not necessarily a bad thing. Environmentalists may want to ban building materials that create CO2 emissions but, until they can offer an alternative or convince people to accept reduced quality of life, then cement is the material of choice. Thirdly, leading change allows one to stay ahead of it or at least give the sector more time to react to it. The ‘turkeys’ may not want to vote for ‘Christmas,’ but perhaps ‘Christmas’ could be replaced with something else?
This latest initiative by the CEOs in the US has parallels with the creation of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) in 2018. Like the current moves in the US, cement producers led the creation of the GCCA, to promote concrete as the sustainable building material of choice.
Meanwhile, Germany’s HeidelbergCement also announced this week that its CO2 reduction targets to 2030 have been assessed against the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) criteria. Its SBTi target is to reduce scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 15% per ton of cementitious material by 2030 from a 2016 base year. HeidelbergCement has also committed to reduce scope 2 GHG emissions by 65% per ton of cementitious materials within the same timeframe. The SBTi target follows HeidelbergCement’s previous goal of a 30% reduction in its specific net CO2 emissions by 2030 compared with 1990. It says it has achieved a reduction of 20% so far.
HeidelbergCement is a sustainability leader in the sector with various projects on the go including the Low Emissions Intensity Lime And Cement (LEILAC) consortium direct separation pilot project at the Lixhe cement plant in Belgium. Following SBTi is a continuation of this trend, albeit one that anchors it with a global consensus.
Coincidence perhaps but when the two largest non-Chinese cement producers start announcing sustainability stories like then the picture is changing. The questions at this point is how far will it go.
A full review of the 3rd Global FutureCem Conference will be published after the event. To find it and more information visit: http://www.globalcement.com/conferences/global-future-cement/introduction
US: The chief executive officers (CEO) of 13 US companies, including LarfargeHolcim, are lobbying the President and Congress to enact business-led climate change legislation. This initiative, known as the CEO Climate Dialogue, urges the government to put in place a long-term federal policy as soon as possible, in accordance with a set of six guiding principles. The group aims to build bipartisan support for climate policies that it says will, “… increase regulatory and business certainty, reduce climate risk, and spur investment and innovation needed to meet science-based emissions reduction targets.”
Companies involved in the CEO Dialogue include BASF, BP, Citi, Dominion Energy, Dow, DTE Energy, DuPont, Exelon, Ford Motor Company, LafargeHolcim, PG&E, Shell, and Unilever. Four environmental groups have also supplied input to the initiative. These are the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Environmental Defense Fund, the Nature Conservancy and World Resources Institute.
The six principles include: ‘significantly’ reducing US greenhouse gas emissions; allowing an effective timeline for reductions that will help capital intensive industries to adjust in an ‘economically rational manner’; instituting a market-based price on carbon; making the policies durable and responsible; doing no harm to the competitiveness of the US economy with particular attention to carbon leakage; and promoting equity. Specifically the initiative says that US policy should ensure the country is on a path to achieve economy-wide emissions reductions of 80% or more by 2050 with ‘aggressive’ short and medium term emissions reductions.
“Tackling the challenge of climate change is no easy task, and as industry leaders, we have an opportunity to join forces to advocate for climate legislation. It is critical we begin to set durable and achievable goals that help safeguard the environment while reducing our carbon footprint,” said Jamie Gentoso, the CEO for US Cement operations of LafargeHolcim.
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim reduced its net CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious material by 1% year-on-year to 576kg CO2/t in 2018 from 582kg CO2/t in 2017. It said that the improvement was achieved by reducing the clinker-to-cement ratio and consuming less energy per tonne of cement, mostly by using alternative fuels and improving the efficiency of the company’s processes. However, data from its Sustainability Report 2018 shows that both its overall gross and net emissions grew. Its net CO2 emissions from cementitious material increased by 2.5% to 121Mt. At the same time its clinker production rose by 2.7% to 151Mt from 147Mt.
The group increased its treatment of waste-derived resources to 52Mt. its alternative raw material substitute rate grew to 11.2% from 10.7%. It established a new pre-processing facility in Madukkarai in India and upgraded its waste handling capacities in Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, India, Canada, Spain and Germany. It also reduced its freshwater withdrawal for cement production and improved its lost time injury rates.
India: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued a show cause notice to Ramco Cement’s Ariyalur plant in Tamil Nadu for breaching air pollution limits. CPCB inspectors found that the particulate matter (PM) and NOx emissions were higher than allowed during an inspection in March 2019, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. The CPCB has recommended that the unit supplies continuous data transmissions and calibrates of all of its monitors to CPCB Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems guidelines.
The European Union’s (EU) verified CO2 emissions figures were released earlier this week on 1 April 2019. The good news is that no cement plant is within the top 100 largest emitters. All the top spots are held by power plants, iron and steel producers and the odd airline. Indeed, out of all of the verified emissions, cement clinker or lime production only represents 7% of the total emissions. Of course this is too much if the region wants to meet its climate change commitments but it is worth remembering that other industries have a long way to go as well and they don’t necessarily face the intrinsic process challenges that clinker production has. If the general public or governments are serious about cutting CO2 emissions then they might consider, for example, taking fewer flights with airlines before picking on the cement industry.
The EU emitted 117Mt of CO2 from its clinker and lime producers in 2018, a 2.7% year-on-year decrease compared to 120Mt in 2017. This compares to 158Mt in 2008, giving a 26% drop in emissions over the decade to 2018. However, there are two warnings attached to this data. First, there are plants on this list that have closed between 2008 and 2018. Second, there are plants that provided no data in 2018, for example, all the plants in Bulgaria. Climate change think tank Sandbag helpfully pointed out in its analysis of the EU emissions data that industrial emissions have barely decreased since 2012. The implication here being that the drop from 2008 to 2012 was mainly due to the economic recession. Sandbag also made the assertion that 96% of the cement industry’s emissions were covered by free allocations in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) thereby de-incentivising sector willingness to decarbonise.
By country the emissions in 2018 from cement and lime roughly correspond with production capacity, although this comes with the caveat that emissions link to actual production not potential capacity. So, Germany leads followed by Spain, Italy, Poland and France. Of these Poland is a slight outlier, as will be seen below.
Plant | Company | Country | CO2 Emissions (Mt) |
Górazdze Plant | Górazdze Cement (Heidelberg Cement) | Poland | 2.73 |
Rørdal Plant | Aalborg Portland Cement | Denmark | 2.19 |
Ozarów Plant | Grupa Ozarow (CRH) | Poland | 2.01 |
Slite Plant | Cementa (HeidelbergCement) | Sweden | 1.74 |
Kamari Plant | Titan Cement | Greece | 1.7 |
Warta Plant | Cementownia Warta | Poland | 1.55 |
Volos Plant | Heracles General Cement (LafargeHolcim) | Greece | 1.27 |
Vassiliko Cement Plant | Vassiliko Cement | Cyprus | 1.21 |
Małogoszcz Plant | Lafarge Cement Polska (LafargeHolcim) | Poland | 1.18 |
Kujawy w Blelawach Plant | Lafarge Cement Polska (LafargeHolcim) | Poland | 1.15 |
Table 1: Top 10 CO2 emitting plants in the European Union in 2018. Source: European Commission.
Poland leads the count in the top 10 EU CO2 emitting cement plants in 2018 with five plants. Greece follows with two plants. This list is deceptive as all of these plants are large ones with production capacities of 2Mt/yr and above. As it contains many of the largest plants in the EU no wonder the emissions are the highest. It is also worth considering that there are far larger plants outside of the EU.
In summary, as most readers will already know, the cement industry is a significant minority CO2 emitter in the EU. Countries with larger cement sectors emit more CO2 as do larger plants. So far, so obvious. Emissions are down since 2008 but this mostly seems to have stalled since 2012, bar a blip in 2017. The change though has been the rising carbon price in the EU ETS in 2018. Coincidentally the carbon price has been fairly low and stable since 2012. If the mechanism is working properly then changes should start to appear in 2019. Already in 2018 a few European cement producers announced plant closures and blamed the carbon price. Watch this space.
Dust dispute for Buzzi in Monselice
26 March 2019Italy: The Buzzi Unicem cement plant in Monselice, Padua has come under fire from concerned locals following an emission of dust on 25 March 2019. Local press reported that the plant failed to notify residents following an emission of raw meal for at least three hours and not until plant staff had been telephoned by the media.
The plant uses marl and supplementary raw materials, the alleged unclear origins of which have particularly animated local environmentalists. Environment Councilor and mayoral candidate Gianni Mamprin said, “They say it’s just dust, but I don’t trust them. A plant of this type is incompatible with the tourism project that we want to implement in Monselice. Above all, Article 19 of the Environmental Plan of the Colli Park states that (it) is an incompatible plant in a natural park. If I am elected mayor of Monselice, I will actively commit to the closure of this unhealthy plant, because this territory does not need a factory that continually creates anxieties and doubts for citizens.”
Sweden: LafargeHolcim has been named by Sasja Beslik, the head of sustainable finance at Nordea, as the second worst company for increasing CO2 emissions in the five years between 2011 and 2016. Other cement companies in the list that Beslik published via his Twitter account include CRH, HeidelbergCement and Shree Cement. The list, entitled ‘The CO2 Culprits Top 100’, was assembled using data from financial services company MSCI.
Central Pollution Control Board orders Malabar Cements to comply with emissions standards
07 January 2019India: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has ordered Malabar Cements plant at Walayar, Palakkad in Kerala to comply with emissions standards or face closure. The cement producer has been given seven days to comply from the 31 December 2018, according to the Times of India newspaper. Malabar Cements was originally granted extra time, to 10 May 2018, to meet the new standards. The CPCB later declared that no cement producer would be able to flout the rules past 31 August 2018. It also intends to fine the company around US$570/day from the end of August 2018 for breaking the standards.
Central Pollution Control Board raps cement producers in Tamil Nadu
18 December 2018India: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has penalised four cement producers in Tamil Nadu for failing to follow emission standards. Chettinad Cement’s plants at Puliyur and Karikkali, Tamil Nadu Cements’ plant at Alangulam, Dalmia Cements’ plant at Salmiapuram and ACC’s plant at Coimbatore have been accused by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for not complying with emission standards for particulate matter, SOx and NOx, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. ACC and Dalmia Cements have been fined around US$420/day since 31 August 2018, Chettinad Cement has been fined around US$5000 for a 12 day delay in compliance and Tamil Nadu Cements has been fined over US$23,000 for a delay of 55 days.
YTL Cement orders emissions control upgrades from CTP Team
13 December 2018Malaysia: YTL Cement has awarded a turnkey project for air pollution control to Italy’s CTP Team. The project at the Perak-Hanjoong Simen cement plant in Pedang Rengas includes the conversion of an existing PL1 raw mill electrostatic precipitator (ESP) to a fabric filter and the upgrade of an existing exhaust fan.
The work includes converting an existing 740,000m3/hr ESP unit downstream of the kiln and raw mills of Line 1 to a bag filter. The conversion will abide to the current footprint on foundations with the minimum impact on steel structures, ducting and dust transport system. The new filter will reduce the emission limits below 10mg/Nm3 by June 2019. The intention is to meet new government regulations quickly. The unit will also be equipped with CTP’s SWAP technology for the cleaning of bags with low-pressure compressed air. CTP Team will work with local partner Shinco Industrial Equipment on the project. No value for the deal has been disclosed.