Our Vision
For a carbon neutral Europe in 2050
The cement industry – a local industry playing a global role for carbon neutrality
The cement and concrete industry plays an essential role to help Europe achieve its strategic objectives on growth, innovation, social inclusion and climate and energy.
Cement production has always been linked to the availability of its raw material: limestone. Cement plants are located next to limestone quarries and have become epicentres for local economic activity and prosperity. The use of locally available resources to produce cement and the limited transport ranges for the industry’s end-product, concrete, firmly anchor the cement industry in the heart of Europe.
Asked about the role of cement and concrete, most people will refer to it as the material that builds our houses, industrial facilities, office buildings and infrastructure. More importantly, cement and concrete are pivotal to building a climate neutral Europe. Foundations of wind turbines, hydro-electric dams, passive housing, tidal power installations and new transport infrastructure all rely on the unique qualities of concrete.
In short, cement is not only the glue that makes a combination of aggregates and water into an amazing construction material, it also binds society’s expectations in terms of growth and employment with environmental sustainability.
Plugging into the European Green Deal
The European Green Deal creates a blueprint for a European society that is climate neutral, innovative, forward looking, fair and circular. It outlines a Union where citizens, industry and biodiversity can thrive. It identifies climate change as one of the major societal challenges and consolidates all elements of a possible solution into a single visionary ambition.
The Green Deal also envisions a European society in 2050 that will be more urbanised, more connected, automated and smarter. That society will need cement and concrete to address its needs.
The Green Deal explicitly recognises the cement industry as one of the industries that is essential for the EU economy as it supplies several key value chains. It further identifies the construction sector as one of the key focus points for the circular economy action plan, promises a new initiative on renovation, emphasises the importance of sustainable product policies and announces a biodiversity strategy.
The cement industry is ready to play its role, especially when it comes to making the circular economy work. With 46% of its fuels now replaced by alternative fuels sourced from a variety of waste streams whereby waste is used to simultaneouly recover energy and recycle the mineral content, which is known as co-processing, the cement industry is an essential player in the circular economy. This is equally the case from a downstream perspective where concrete is fully recyclable at the end-of-life of a built structure and CO2 released during the cement manufacturing phase is re-absorbed at the end of the value chain through re-carbonation. We aim to position our industry as an integrated part of the circular economy and as a driving force for change in building techniques, leading to a smarter, more energy-efficient, more re-usable and recyclable built environment.
A joint effort
In the following pages, we explain how, by acting at every stage of the value chain, deep CO2 emission cuts can be achieved to lead to carbon neutrality. In striving for this goal, the cement industry is optimistic on driving down its manufacturing emissions. We are also pleased to be recognised as an essential supplier of a product that is bringing value to society over its entire value chain.
Yet, we also recognise that delivering carbon neutrality is a collective effort. New plants or CO2 pipeline networks are not built overnight and the use of alternative raw materials depends on their availability.
Technologies are rolled out at a faster pace than ever, but decarbonisation along the value chain requires out-of-the-box thinking on breakthrough technologies and solutions beyond our factory gates.
The process to go from our commitment to reality will be driven by people – from scientists working in our R&D teams to workers on site. It is crucial for a successful transition to take all workers on the climate neutrality journey and strongly focus on training and skills development.
The Importance of Policy
The importance of policy frameworks to enable and accelerate this transition to a climate neutral cement industry cannot be underestimated. To achieve its objectives, our industry will need a policy environment that offers confidence to allow us to leap forward.
We explain throughout the document how targeted policies, aligned with the European Green Deal agenda, could allow for deep CO2 emissions reduction down the value chain. Yet, there are also a few key principles to that policymakers at European, Member State and local levels should adhere to support deep decarbonisation.
A Long-Term Vision with industry at its core
Given the long-term investments cycles in the industry, it is indispensable to provide investors with predictability. Investments in low-carbon technologies requires regulatory certainty from now until 2030.
Higher EU climate change targets need to be achieved with proper respect for the current legal framework against which companies are currently making their investment decisions.
In addition, a robust EU industrial transformation agenda will be key to deploy the many technologies we need to cut emissions.
This EU-wide policy should be coordinated with initiatives at Member State and local levels, which can all play a decisive role in reducing emissions.
A Level Playing Field
Reaching net zero emissions will require a level playing field on carbon vis-à-vis non-EU importers. Such a level playing field is indispensable to stimulate low-carbon investments and support carbon emission reductions worldwide. This can be achieved through the design of a WTO-compatible carbon border mechanism that must co-exist with ETS carbon leakage measures until at least 2030.
Policies based on circularity and the life-cycle of products
When looking at a climate neutral cement and concrete industry, a holistic vision is paramount. This would involve looking beyond our factory gates both in terms of infrastructure and the lifetime of the product.
As outlined in the following pages, our work demonstrates that circularity and life-cycle approaches – in line with the European Green Deal and the circular economy action plan – will be key to reaching carbon neutrality.
A Focus on People
Change will be driven by people and we will need the right people to make it happen. Governments, at all levels, should place ever more emphasis on re-skilling and upskilling.
Investment
The cement sector alone will need substantial investments between now and 2050 to carry out research into the new technologies identified, to conduct demonstration scale projects and then to roll out these technologies across Europe. These investments will require innovative forms of funding and updated State Aid rules. Continued EU funding and innovative sources of financing, such as carbon contracts for difference, will be key for the roll-out of low-carbon technologies.
Our next steps
In the following pages, we explain how, by acting at every stage of the value chain, deep CO2 emission cuts can be achieved to lead to carbon neutrality. In striving for this goal, the cement industry is optimistic on driving down its manufacturing emissions. We are also pleased to be recognised as an essential supplier of a product that is bringing value to society over its entire value chain.
Yet, we also recognise that delivering carbon neutrality is a collective effort. New plants or CO2 pipeline networks are not built overnight and the use of alternative raw materials depends on their availability.
Technologies are rolled out at a faster pace than ever, but decarbonisation along the value chain requires out-of-the-box thinking on breakthrough technologies and solutions beyond our factory gates.
The process to go from our commitment to reality will be driven by people – from scientists working in our R&D teams to workers on site. It is crucial for a successful transition to take all workers on the climate neutrality journey and strongly focus on training and skills development.
Our approach to 2050 carbon neutrality down the value chain
The European cement industry has actively worked on reducing emissions for a long time. Since 1990, it has reduced its CO2 relative emissions by about 15%.
CEMBUREAU elaborated a Roadmap in 2013 setting an 80% CO2 reduction target for 2050. The Roadmap was complemented in 2018 by the “5C approach” that promotes a collaborative approach along the clinker-cement-concreteconstruction- carbonation value chain involving all actors to help turn the low carbon vision into reality.
The publication of the European Green Deal and its setting-up of a 2050 carbon neutrality objective are game changers and require an ambitious vision from our industry. In the wake of these initiatives, the cement industry is accelerating its pace and takes action with investments in energy-efficiency and CO2
reduction and with major demonstration projects underway or planned to meet the climate neutral ambition.
In the following pages, CEMBUREAU refines the goals already set in its 2013 Roadmap for clinker and cement and defines goals for the remaining three “C’s”, all with a view to identifying the different technical pathways and business opportunities to reduce CO2.
For each of the 5C, we identify the areas that allow for significant emissions reduction, the key technologies that will get us there, as well as the policy levers which will play a pivotal role.
As shown in the below chart on our 2050 ambition (page 12), these emission reductions allow to meet the objective of carbon neutrality down the cement and concrete value chain.