Buzzi Unicem reports on sustainability achievements

Buzzi Unicem has lowered its specific gross scope 1 CO₂ emissions from 689kg/t cementitious product in 2021 to 664kg/t in 2022, according to its 2022 Sustainability Report. This marks a 3.6 per cent reduction YoY.  Compared to 2020, scope 1 CO₂ emissions are down 4.3 per cent. Specific thermal consumption has fallen from 4138MJ/t clinker in 2020 to 4106MJ/t in 2021 and 4084MJ/t in 2022. Meanwhile, the group’s thermal substitution rate fell from 29.2 per cent in 2020 to 27.8 per cent in 2021 before advancing to 29.9 per cent in 2022. 

According to the company, 2022 was the deadline it had set in 2017 to achieve three important sustainability targets, including a five per cent reduction in its specific CO₂ emissions compared to 2017, the implementation of structural engagement projects in all its production sites with a high economic, environmental and social impact, and increasingly safe working conditions. “It is with pride and satisfaction that we can confirm that all the above goals have been achieved,” announced co-CEOs Pietro Buzzi and Michele Buzzi in the report.

However, the company did report two fatalities in 2022, in line with 2021 and 2020 – one involving an employee in the Czech Republic and another involving a contractor’s employee in Russia. Buzzi has introduced a new senior figure in the form of a corporate safety manager who is tasked with further improving the group’s safety culture and accident rates. Its LTIFR rate for 2022 stood at 4.9, compared to five in 2021 and 4.8 in 2020. 

According to the report, Buzzi Unicem continues to pursue the greatest possible use of alternative fuels in place of fossil fuels. The average figure in 2022 for the group in terms of thermal substitution was 29.9 per cent, which is higher than the level seen in 2021. Levels in the USA (21.2 per cent) and Poland (69.4 per cent) improved, while in the Czech Republic the figure was 79.2 per cent and in Germany it remained above 70 per cent. The contribution of energy from biomass in 2022 increased to 7.6 per cent of the total energy consumed (from 7.1 per cent in 2021).

In 2022 electrical energy requirements accounted for 11.6 per cent of total energy with the share of this coming from renewable sources (certified and non-certified) equal to 11.5 per cent (ie, 1.3 per cent of total energy). Specific consumption of electrical energy in 2022 results 121kWh/t of cementitious product, a value in line with the 2021 result. Total energy consumption, compared to last year, was down due to reduced production in Ukraine.

Buzzi currently has a cement production capacity of 40.2Mta, including 28 integrated cement plants and six grinding units, along with 46 terminals, 390 ready-mixed concrete batch plants and 19 aggregates quarries. Cement production in 2022 came in at 27.37Mt, down from 29.44Mt in 2021 and 28.02Mt in 2020.