CDP report claims producers still need to vastly reduce CO2 levels

A new report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) entitled 'Building Pressure', which analyses 13 of the world's largest publicly-listed cement companies, reveals that they need to more than double their emissions reductions if they are to limit global warming to below 2˚C, as agreed in the Paris Climate Deal.

The companies analysed in the report have a total market capitalisation of US$150bn and represent 16 per cent of global cement production. The CDP has assessed companies across four key areas aligned with the recommendations from Mark Carney’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). As the TCFD recommendations become mainstream, investors will increasingly expect cement companies to disclose how they are adjusting their business models to manage transition risks, while taking advantage of the opportunity to generate revenue from the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

Marco Kisic, senior analyst at CDP, commented: “Cement companies have made some progress towards reducing their emissions, but they need to do a huge amount more. It is clearly a complicated story because of our global reliance on cement, and the inherent emissions of the sector, but there are things that can be done. Cement companies should be looking at ways to further use alternative materials and fuels, improve the energy efficiency of their plants, and accelerate investments in low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture and storage, which is crucial for their long-term viability." 

Regulation may be the key driver for change here, and interestingly, this may be driven by downstream agents as building regulators and owners shift their focus from operational emissions, to those associated with creating the buildings themselves.

Indian companies topped the CDP league table thanks to reducing their carbon footprint during the cement-making process, in part due to better access to alternative materials from other carbon-intensive sectors.