Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

India: UltraTech Cement says that it has made a second deployment of GreenLine liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered cement trucks in its cement operations. Indo-Asian News Service has reported that the new trucks will operate from UltraTech Cement’s Pune cement terminal in Maharashtra. GreenLine says that its LNG trucks have 28% lower CO₂ emissions than ordinary cement trucks, equating to reductions of 24t/yr per truck for UltraTech Cement.

The cement producer’s associate vice president Tanmay Pradhan said “We are dedicated to creating a sustainable future, and we are fully committed to collaborating with our partners and stakeholders to achieve our goal of a cleaner environment. Our association with GreenLine is a step forward in our ongoing efforts to decrease emissions, enhance energy efficiency, and promote sustainability."

Switzerland: Holcim has published its Climate Report 2023, detailing the company’s progress towards meeting its sustainability commitments up to the end of 2022. The cement producer recorded net specific CO₂ emissions per tonne of product of 562kg/t, down by 1.7% year-on-year from 572kg/t in 2021. In line with its 1.5°C climate change-aligned targets, Holcim is committed to 420kg/t specific CO₂ emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

Overall, the group’s Scope 1 CO₂ emissions from cement production fell by 2.5% to 77Mt from 79Mt, while its Scope 2 emissions remained at 5Mt and its Scope 3 emissions fell by 11% to 47Mt from 53Mt. Its cement had an average clinker factor of 73%, down from 73.6% in 2021. Holcim processed 6.8Mt of construction and demolition waste, up by 3% from 6.6Mt. Meanwhile, its thermal substitution rate of alternative fuel (AF) rose to 28% from 26%.

CEO Jan Jenisch and chief sustainability officer Magali Anderson said “With our successful transformation, we reduced our CO₂ per net sales by 21% in 2022, and commit to reducing it by over 10% in 2023. Accelerating the shift to net-zero cities requires deep partnerships across our value chain. In 2022 we engaged with public authorities to evolve building standards, with cities to scale up green demand in their projects, and with architects and engineers to specify sustainable solutions in their designs. We did this as a key partner for our customers, bringing solutions that help them achieve their sustainability goals.”

Greece: Titan Cement Group published its 2022 Integrated Report on 6 April 2023. The report outlines the cement producer’s financial and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. For the full year, the group recorded a net profit of Euro110m, up by 19.3% year-on-year. It made ‘record’ capital expenditure investments of Euro242m, and increased its net debt by 12% to Euro797m.

The group says that it is ‘on track’ to meet its ESG targets for 2025 and beyond. It reduced its specific CO₂ emissions by 5% decade-on-decade in 2022. Throughout the year, Titan Cement Group continued its investments in research, development and innovation activities across all markets, with an increased focus on carbon capture, storage and utilisation. It also rolled out its digital transformation to further plants around the globe.

UK: Holcim has acquired leading London construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling company Sivyer Logistics. Sivyer Logistics produced 500,000t of recycled aggregates and manufactured soils from 1Mt of CDW across its six sites in 2022. Holcim says that the acquisition represents a step towards realising its target of 10Mt/yr of construction and demolition waste in Holcim products by 2025.

The group’s Europe regional head Miljan Gutovic said “Sivyer Logistics is an excellent addition to help us drive circular construction.” He added “I look forward to welcoming all employees of Sivyer Logistics and investing in our next era of growth together.”

Europe: Cemex has launched its latest packaging design for its Vertua reduced-CO₂ product range at the Low Carbon World exhibition in Paris, France. The new design incorporates products' scores across five 'sustainability attributes:' emissions reduction, energy efficiency, conservation of water, recycled content and design optimisation. Cemex will now deploy the design across Europe by June 2023.

Cemex's Europe, Middle East and Africa regional president Sergio Menendez said “Cemex is attuned to the need to focus on all aspects that can make a product more sustainable - not just achieving a lower carbon footprint. With the updated classification system for Vertua, customers can now more easily identify which of our products leverage the cutting-edge technology and innovation that will enable them to overcome the challenges they are currently facing in construction and renovation." Menendez concluded "The enhanced Vertua brand represents a more ambitious and stronger approach: from a group of low carbon products to a family of products and solutions that encompass more sustainable attributes and contribute to our company vision of building a better future.”

Japan: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Osaka Gas have launched a collaboration to develop a value chain for captured CO₂ from Japan's hard-to-abate industries, including the cement sector. JCN Newswire has reported that their collaboration will leverage MHI's expertise in CO₂ capture, liquefied CO₂ maritime vessel transport and CO₂ management, and Osaka Gas' expertise in e-methane production and CO₂ storage. The project will integrate MHI and IBM Japan's CO₂nnex software platform to model value chains. The project aims to contribute to the realisation of Japan's target of net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

UK: Hanson UK says that its planned installation of a carbon capture system at its Padeswood cement plant in Flintshire has proceeded to the due diligence and negotiations stage. The project aims to achieve net zero CO₂ cement production by capturing 800,000t/yr of CO₂. It is part of the HyNet North West array of projects, which combines green hydrogen and carbon capture to build a first-of-its-kind industrial decarbonisation cluster.

Hanson UK CEO Simon Willis said “I would like to thank the government and all of those that supported us in our bid to receive funding which will enable us to help decarbonise the construction industry and meet our overall ambition to become a net zero business. This global exemplar project will provide net zero construction materials for major projects across the country, from new offshore wind farms and nuclear power stations to clean transport infrastructure.”

Pakistan: Bestway Cement has ignited the kiln of Line 1 of its Mianwali cement plant in Punjab. The line has a capacity of 2.3Mt/yr. The Pakistan Observer newspaper has reported that it increases the producer's cement capacity by 18% to 15.3Mt/yr and brings its total number of production lines to eight. The Mianwali cement plant is equipped with a 20MW solar power plant and will run on 50% renewable energy. It also has a 9MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant, an air cooled condenser (ACC) system and a rainwater harvesting system.

Bestway Cement CEO Lord Zameer Choudrey said "It's a great day for the company. Our new greenfield production line at Mianwali has been set up in a record time, despite various hurdles and supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19."

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia subsidiary Semen Baturaja has obtained four loans worth a total US$59.9m. Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Mandiri, Bank CIMB Niaga and HSBC Indonesia advanced the funds. The loans' syndicated credit agreement aligns with Semen Baturaja's sustainability strategy, which is based on Semen Indonesia's Sustainability Framework.

Semen Baturaja's managing director Daconi Khotob said "This syndicated sustainability-linked loan will provide many benefits for Semen Baturaja, including lower interest rates than conventional loans, more attractive term sheets and the flexibility to make accelerated repayments." Khotob added that the sustainability provisions will also 'broaden the scope of investors.'

Canada: The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) said that it is 'confident that Canada will lead in building clean technologies for a sustainable future' following the publication of the government's Budget 2023 on 29 March 2023. The budget includes US$26bn-worth of green tax credits. US$19.2bn-worth of this is allotted to renewable energy. It also includes a final design for Canada's Investment Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). CAC president and CEO Adam Auer said that, when finalised, the budget will help to 'close the gap' between existing Canadian legislation and incentives offered under the US Inflation Reduction Act and EU Green Deal Industrial Plan.

Auer said “With close to 60% of our emissions resulting from the immutable chemistry of making cement, deep investment in innovative and expensive technologies, like CCUS, are both vital and unavoidable. With Budget 2023, the government clearly affirmed its understanding of the final role this technology plays in our industry’s efforts to reach net-zero." He continued “We were also pleased to see references to carbon contracts for difference (CCfD). Canada’s cement companies, like many industries in Canada, are part of large multinationals, and divisions must compete within their companies for projects. Investing in net-zero projects requires predictability. The certainty that CCfDs can provide is the difference between attracting investment, building projects and creating clean jobs - or conceding the opportunity to our competitors."