Efforts by the world's leading cement companies reduced carbon dioxide emissions from the industry's manufacturing process by 35 per cent, even while production climbed 53 per cent, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's Cement Sustainability Initiative.
The council's initiative released the findings in its report, Cement Industry Energy and CO2 Performance: "Getting the Numbers Right" on Tuesday. The report represents the latest progress in an international effort to make cement production more environmentally friendly.
The group's work includes development of a CO2 accounting and reporting protocol for the industry and creation of the global Getting the Numbers Right database of energy and emissions information. The resource enables the analysis and benchmarking of industry performance. It is managed by an independent third party on an open platform.
The percentages for production growth and the absolute net reduction in CO2 emissions resulted from the analysis of available data from 1990 and 2006. The findings are significant because they indicate a growing ability to "decouple" cement production from related emissions, as a result of comprehensive measurement and management throughout the manufacturing process.
The manufacturing of cement is responsible for about five per cent of the world's CO2 emissions. The three largest producers in the industry are China, the top producer, followed by India and the US. Reducing CO2 emissions in cement production is an important factor in combating climate change because the industry is expected to double by 2030.
Eighteen global firms are participating in the council's initiative to make their industry cleaner and greener and they provided information for the Getting the Numbers Right database. The system is the broadest of its kind so far in the industry and provides aggregated data on more than 800 cement facilities from 100 countries around the world.
The system currently has data for 1990, 2000, 2005 and 2006, which primarily covers operations in Europe, North America and Latin America. It has also received 50 per cent of the information needed for India. But reporting by China and the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States could be improved, project leaders said.
In June, the council released the results of the nearly three-year-old project to identify the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the global cement industry.
In a separate effort to reduce emissions, the US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new regulations governing emissions from energy-intensive Portland cement kilns – Portland cement is the most commonly use type of cement in the world.
This article first appeared at Greenbiz.com
Rich nations need to cut CO2 emissions 90 per cent, says national think-tank 17 Sep 2009
But new report suggests emissions peak could come 20 years sooner 17 Aug 2009
Researchers predict that 100 million early deaths could be prevented by cutting global emissions by 50% by 2050 12 May 2009
But threaten to throw negotiations into crisis unless rich nations commit to more ambitious emission reductions 04 Nov 2009Clean power and energy-efficient technologies seen as vital to CO2 reduction 10 Sep 2009
Measures needed to ensure cars do not charge from fossil fuel-powered grid 09 Feb 2010
$50bn over 10 years to be ploughed into solar and wind installations 09 Feb 2010
Reports claim energy giant is expecting to raise more than $1bn in Hong Kong flotation 09 Feb 2010
More news
Trewin Restorick wonders if the concept du jour of "nudging" behaviour change can help curb UK carbon emissions 08 Feb 2010
From feed in tariffs to vanishing top soil, we run down the top stories from the past week 08 Feb 2010
Joel Hagan, chief executive of Onzo, argues for a fundamental shake-up of the energy sector to create a Californian-style three-way split 05 Feb 2010 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
