Cemex announces EPD publication for its UK cement products

Cemex UK has published Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for products at its Rugby and Tilbury cement plants. The EPDs have been gained for cement delivered in bulk tankers, covering more than 80 per cent of manufactured cements.

Paul Fletcher, head of sustainability for Cemex Europe, comments that, “Achieving third-party verification through the International EPD System provides independent and transparent information of our cement’s environmental performance over the entire lifecycle of the product. “The EPD factors in all raw materials, energy inputs and water usage throughout the manufacturing process and therefore provides us with a holistic validation of our products to support our net zero ambitions.”

Its CEM II/A-L 52.5N (Cemstone) is a factory-produced Portland composite cement with the addition of limestone, containing around 80 per cent clinker. It provides benefits in a wide range of concrete, mortar, render, screed and grout applications being suitable for use as an alternative to Portland cement in most types of concrete.

Its CEM I 52.5N cement is a traditional Portland cement, containing 95-100 per cent clinker, and is now being replaced by Cemstone across most customer segments due to the lower carbon intensity of Cemstone.

Both cements can be used to produce precast and prestressed concrete elements and can be used in ready-mixed concrete. Recent changes to BS8500, the complimentary British Standard to the European concrete standard EN206, now allow Cemstone to be used in combination with other additions to produce concrete suitable across a wide range of Exposure Classes and therefore specifiers and concrete producers can select and produce even lower carbon concretes that supports the industries drive to Net Zero by 2050.

Cemstone is part of Cemex’s Vertua product portfolio that includes building materials with attributes that demonstrate either a lower-carbon embodiment, the use of recycled materials, improved thermal efficiency, increased water conservation or design optimisation.

The Vertua range produced by Cemex includes the company's CEM II A-L cements, ready-mix concrete and also extends to products including sprayed concrete, dry-silo and bagged mortar, and asphalt.

The recent publication of EPDs in UK and Poland follows the announcement made by Cemex at the end of 2023 that it had achieved EPDs for products manufactured in Croatia and Spain and was continuing to pursue EPDs for its products across its Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia operations.