Creating an appropriate cement industry transformation framework

The recently published “Environmental Data of the German Cement Industry 2020” reveals how cement manufacturers in Germany aim to meet the latest environmental policy targets. The agenda is headed by three major topics: Climate neutrality by 2050, the preservation of primary raw materials and air pollution control. 

The road to climate neutrality will involve the cement industry having to reduce its CO₂ emissions to an unprecedented extent. “What we urgently need now to continue on our chosen path towards achieving climate-neutral cement production are appropriate and reliable framework conditions,” stresses Christian Knell, President of the German Cement Works Association (VDZ). This applies in particular to the further development of renewable energies and power grids as well as the creation of a functioning CO₂ infrastructure.  

Considerations in the fields of politics and economics, as well as in society in general, are increasingly focussing on the preservation of resources in addition to a reduction in greenhouse gases. “In this context, climate protection and a responsible attitude towards raw materials go hand in hand,” explains VDZ President, Christian Knell. 

Together with the industry, VDZ is also conducting research into further possible ways of  preserving resources, for instance through the use of fine materials from recycled broken concrete/bricks as main cement constituents or through the recycling of hardened cement paste. In keeping with the CO₂ road map published in 2020, VDZ is intending to present a resource study outlining the reduction potential available along the entire value chain by the end of 2021.

“Despite all our efforts we will however not be able to achieve resource neutrality,” the VDZ president points out. “We will still have to make use of natural resources, albeit to a far lesser extent. So a reliable supply of primary raw materials will continue to remain essential.”