Displaying items by tag: World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Poland: The Swiss-based Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) has acknowledged Górażdże Concrete’s sustainable management of resources in the concrete production process. Przemysław Malinowski, Górażdże president, stated that the company has sought to ‘minimise its impact on the environment in all areas of the supply chain.’ This included sourcing its cement from producers who demonstrate effective waste heat recovery and alternative fuel substitution practices, with a view to promoting the circular economy.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) established the CSC to promote care for the economic, social and environmental impacts of concrete production by auditing the entire production process. In a Polish concrete sector of 25Mm3/yr total production capacity, Górażdże is the sole holder of CSC certification.

India/UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has launched GCCA India. As part of GCCA’s strategic partnership with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development the new office, based in Mumbai, will take over the work of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) India, which formerly served as the sector’s sustainability alliance.

GCCA India plans to ensure that, from a sustainability angle, innovation in technology and manufacture, and collaboration across the wider built environment, the Indian cement sector can play a key leadership role. It will develop a work program that will focus on the wider global GCCA priorities but with practical application across the Indian built environment.

India: Cement producers and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have launched the Indian Cement Sector SDG Roadmap. The planning framework uses the United Nation’s (UN) sustainable development goals (SDG) to set a series of goals in energy and climate, people and communities, the circular economy and natural resource management. It is intended to contribute to the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This initiative has been convened by nine cement companies: ACC, Ambuja Cement, CRH, Dalmia Cement (Bharat), Heidelberg Cement, Shree Cement, Orient Cement, UltraTech Cement, Votorantim Cimentos. It is also partially funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Notable goals from the roadmap include promoting railway and waterway transport networks, improving transport safety, increasing the use of blended cements and encouraging the use of alternative fuels. The framework also plans to increase the number of women in the indsutry workforce at every level from entry to board.

The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) announced this week that it intends to take over the work done by the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI). This marks a change in how the cement industry as a whole approaches sustainability and in the wider context how the sector manages itself on the world stage.

The CSI was set up in 1999 with the aim of advancing a sustainability agenda for the cement industry. It has done this by laying out strategy for the industry to follow in the form of technology roadmaps and publishing its ‘Getting the Numbers Right’ (GNR) data on CO₂ and energy performance information. By 2018 it had 24 cement company members composed of nine core members, 14 participating members and one affiliate member. It represents around 2.4Bnt/yr of global cement production capacity or over half of the world production, according to Global Cement Directory 2018 data.

The idea behind the membership was that the core members are all members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and that the members would contribute ‘modest’ funds to run the organisation. That last point about WBCSD membership is worth noting because members need to stick to conditions such as publishing an annual sustainability report and agree to have the sustainability report reviewed and benchmarked by the WBCSD.

Figure 1: Outline of selected current global cement organisations with a sustainability remit. Source: Association websites, Global Cement Directory 2018.

The GCCA, which formed in early 2018, says it had formed a ‘strategic’ partnership with the WBCSD and that it will take over the work previously done by the CSI from the start of 2019. Although there’s no mention so far whether GCCA members have to actually become WBCSD members with all that this entails. At present the GCCA consists of nine major international cement producers, including over half of the world’s top 10 producers by production capacity, with a production base in every inhabited continent except Antarctica. Roughly speaking it represents just under 2Bnt/yr of global cement production capacity or about half of the world’s total.

Now where this starts to get confusing is that other cement associations exist with their own established advocacy roles and sustainability agendas. The established players include the various regional associations such as the Portland Cement Association in the US, Cembureau in Europe and so forth. The multinational ones also often represent national bodies.

Then there is the World Cement Association (WCA), which formed in 2016. This independent body is a private company run out of an office in London, UK with non-profit aims. It has 45 members but only three quarters are actual cement producers. Of these most are single-country cement manufacturers. The glaring standout is China National Building Material (CNBM) and its subsidiaries, representing over half of the association’s member’s cement production capacity. The production capacity of the WCA’s members is around 1Bnt/yr or a quarter of the global total. More than half of this comes from CNBM and its subsidiaries. Unsurprisingly then that Song Zhi Ping, the head of CNBM, is the president of the WCA. It too supports a sustainability agenda, saying that it, “seeks to co-operate with the WBCSD, CSI and regional and national Cement Associations.” What is noteworthy is how few of the current members of the WCA joined the CSI previously.

There is definitely a need for a global organisation advocating sustainability issues for the cement industry and by taking over the work of the CSI and the GCCA has cornered this part of what a global cement association might do. However, the GCCA represents less cement production capacity than the CSI did. The main omissions are the Indian producers, led by UltraTech Cement, as well as others. It seems likely that they will join the GCCA following the end of the CSI but there is no guarantee.

The other point arises when looking at these various cement associations is: who does what exactly? The CSI’s focus on sustainability gave it a purpose that it did well with a genuine appearance of independence. Its narrow focus also gave it a complimentary role to the existing national and regional associations. Global bodies like the GCCA and the WCA are clearly more into advocacy territory for their members. Also, a more general association approach like the GCCA and the WCA may clash with regional bodies like the PCA and Cembureau. Regional bodies seem better suited to the way governance works globally with regional groups such as the European Union (EU) or government departments in continental sized countries such as the US, China and India. However, a truly global cement body could respond better to coordinated environmental lobbying and fill in the gaps around the world in places with looser regional representation.

Sustainability is the immediate link between the CSI, the GCCA and the WCA. Indeed the WCA recently held a ‘Global Climate Change’ forum in Paris to discuss its own climate action plan. Yet, with the GCCA taking over the work the CSI does and the WCA saying it wants to cooperate with the CSI, the obvious outcome is that the GCCA will become the world’s apex cement association. It will represent the companies with the most cement production capacity, have a presence in every inhabited continent and take the lead on WBCSD issues. Beyond this though it will be interesting to see what, if anything else, the GCCA chooses to do.

UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has formed a strategic partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to facilitate sustainable development of the cement and concrete sectors. As part of the new agreement, the work carried out by the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) will transfer from WBCSD to the GCCA on 1 January 2019 with activities managed out of the GCCA’s London offices. The new partnership will also create synergies between work programmes to benefit both the GCCA and WBCSD and their respective member companies.

“Transferring the activities of the CSI to the GCCA is a logical step and further underlines the cement and concrete sector’s commitment to advance sustainable development across the construction cycle. As the authoritative worldwide voice of the cement and concrete sector, the GCCA is ideally placed to take this work to the next level, building on the strong foundations established by WBCSD,” said Albert Manifold, chief executive officer (CEO) of CRH and GCCA President.

The CSI, which was established in 1999 and currently operates under the auspices of WBCSD, is a global effort by 24 major cement producers to advance sustainable development. Over its 19-year history, the CSI has focused on understanding, measuring, managing and minimising the impacts of cement production and use by addressing a range of issues including: climate change, fuel use, employee health and safety, airborne emissions, concrete recycling and quarry management.

India: Orient Cement, part of CK Birla Group, has joined the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI). The CSI is a voluntary chief executive officer led business initiative operating under the umbrella of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and a global effort by major cement producers towards sustainable development. Orient Cement expects membership of this initiative to give it impetus in its efforts to create a safe and ecologically favourable environment where it operates.

“We are delighted to be a part of the global mission to make our industry shoulder the responsibility for global sustainability. We thank the WBCSD and the CSI for partnering with us in our journey. We expect to contribute to and benefit from our participation in the various working groups of this initiative and look forward to a very engaging and fulfilling journey ahead,” said Deepak Khetrapal, the managing director and chief executive officer of Orient Cement.

Egypt: The Egyptian cement industry could reduce its CO₂ emissions by 2030 by following new recommendations in a report from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). These recommendations have been published in the EBRD’s report, ‘Policy roadmap for a Low-Carbon Egyptian Cement Industry,’ which highlights the need for decisive and collaborative action by the industry’s stakeholders in order to achieve a reduction in CO₂ emissions.

“Improving environmental standards in the cement industry and offering commercial incentives is realistic and vital for the profitability of the sector,” said Philip ter Woort, the EBRD Director for Egypt.

The roadmap outlines recommendations for policy actions from the Egyptian government that may provide effective incentives for the cement industry to improve its energy efficiency and to reduce CO₂ emissions. The report points out that the potential for improvement is high despite that 50% of the Egyptian cement industry’s production capacity was built after 2000, and is using up-to-date equipment and clinker kilns that use best available technology (BAT).

Until 2014, the Egyptian cement industry, one of the most energy intensive industries in the country, had primarily used state-subsidised natural gas and heavy fuel oil to fire its cement kilns. However, following a gradual phasing out of the energy subsidies, Egyptian cement companies have switched to using high CO₂ intensive fuels such as coal and petcoke.

The roadmap suggests that in order to reduce CO₂ emissions, the industry should reduce the clinker content in cement, increase the use of alternative fuels, improve electrical energy efficiency and use more renewable sources of energy. Under one of the more ambitious scenarios, 2.2Mt/yr of coal will no longer have to be imported by 2030, saving about US$200m. Furthermore this would lead to a reduction in CO₂ emissions to about 2% below the historic level prior to the fuel switch. In addition the cement industry could increase its usage of alternative fuels substitution.

The report was initiated by the EBRD, in cooperation with Egypt’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), the Chamber of Building Materials Industries/Cement Industry Association (CBMI) and the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) has announced its aim to reduce CO₂ emissions by clinker producers by 20 - 25% by 2030. It made the announcement as part of a new action plan launched on 8 December 2015 at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21).

Most of the plan follows the CSI's existing aims announced to chime with the on-going COP21 negotiations. The plan depends on a long-term agreement being brokered successfully in Paris at COP21 as a whole. It then recommends policy in each of its key areas to achieve its goals. All of this sits beneath a general policy statement to, '...encourage policies for predictable, objective, level-playing and stable CO₂ constraints and incentives as well as energy frameworks on an international level.'

The Cement Action Plan is part of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development Low Carbon Technology Partnerships initiative (LCTPi). It puts together a series of measures to aspire to reduce CO₂ emissions by 1Gt by 2030 compared to business as usual. However this reduction is dependent on the entire cement industry getting involved, not just the existing 26 CSI members. Together these 26 members represent just a quarter of world cement production.

The drop in emissions is based on the so-called 'best-in-class' CSI company 2020 targets. To reach this the CSI is suggesting actions including focusing on recording Chinese cement industry emissions and energy usage, improving energy efficiency, promoting co-processing of alternative fuels, further lowering the clinker factor of cements, developing new low-energy and low-carbon cements, looking at the entire build chain to reduce emissions and considering other options such as carbon capture and storage. The plan had the support of the CEOs of 16 cement companies at its launch, with CNBM CEO Song Zhiping adding his assent at the event also.

The most prominent step is the clear focus on China for data capture using existing CSI tools such as the CO₂ and Energy Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Cement Industry, the Getting the Numbers Right (GNR) and the Cement Technology Roadmaps. As the CSI puts it, "What gets measured gets managed."

Given that China produces around 60% of the world's cement, according to United States Geological Survey data, the focus on China is essential. Currently the CSI has six Chinese members: CNBM, Sinoma, China Resources, Tianrui Group, West China Cement and Yati Group. Notable exceptions to CSI membership from the world's biggest cement producers include the Chinese producers Anhui Conch and Taiwan Cement, as well as Russia's Eurocement and India's Aditya Birla Group.

So, the CSI has set out its stall ahead of a hoped-for global agreement on climate change at the Paris conference. If some sort of legal agreement is reached then the CSI has its recommendations ready in the wings to hand to policymakers everywhere to promote its aims. If no agreement is reached then the plan loses momentum although pushing forwards makes sense where possible, starting with better CO₂ data reported especially in China.

Problems lie ahead for the CSI whatever happens in Paris given that the LCTPi Cement Action Plan is a series of policy suggestions from only 16 cement producers aiming for a non-binding target. For example, without some sort of world legal agreement there are clear commercial advantages for non-CSI members to burn cheap fossil fuels in their kilns and undercut their more environmentally pious rivals. The sustaining low cost of oil, dipping below US$40/barrel this week, can only aggravate this situation and distract the strategies of fuel buyers away from co-processing upgrades.