Votorantim Cimentos ended 2024 with global emissions of 550kg of CO2 per tonne of cementitious materials produced, a reduction of 27.9 per cent compared to 1990, the baseline year used by the cement industry. Compared to 2023, when its emissions were 556kg of CO2 per tonne of cementitious material, the company reduced its CO2 emissions per tonne of product manufactured by one per cent in 2024. Votorantim Cimentos’ 2030 decarbonisation target, approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), is 475kg of CO2 per tonne of cementitious product.
 
In 2024 Votorantim Cimentos’ global thermal substitution rate, which measures the percentage of biomass and waste used as fuel in cement kilns, through co-processing was 32.1 per cent. This rate represents an improvement compared to 2023, when the company achieved a thermal substitution rate of 30.9 per cent. The group's 2030 target rate is 53 per cent.
 
The clinker factor (which measures the amount of clinker in cement) was 72.5 per cent last year, a drop compared to 72.8 per cent in 2023. Votorantim Cimentos’ 2030 goal is to reach a clinker factor of 68 per cent by increasing the use of alternative raw materials, in line with the concept of the circular economy.
 
In 2024, 34.1 per cent of the electricity consumed by Votorantim Cimentos came from renewable sources, compared to 34.1 per cent in 2023, excluding the operations in Morocco and Tunisia, which were sold by the company last year. The divestment in Morocco is awaiting the fulfilment of usual conditions precedent for this type of transaction to be concluded. The company’s goal is to have 45 per cent of the energy consumed globally come from renewable sources by 2030.
 
In October 2024 Votorantim Cimentos launched Blenture, a new cement and concrete brand for the Iberian Peninsula, designed to reduce CO2 emissions and support more sustainable construction. Blenture is the result of significant investments in research and development. The brand aligns with the company’s sustainability commitments and decarbonisation strategy, which are based on process efficiency, the use of recycled raw materials and the consumption of non-fossil fuels to drive the circular economy and increase the use of renewable energy. Blenture cements and concretes offer competitive solutions to many applications, with the same quality, strength and performance, combined with a 30 per cent reduction in carbon footprint.
 
Internationally, Votorantim Cimentos is making progress in CO2 capture projects in Canada and Spain. The Alconera plant in Spain, has started a carbon capture pilot project using hot potassium carbonate (HPC) technology. This initiative is one of the industry’s first carbon capture experiments in Spain and seeks to expand knowledge about this technology, representing an important step in the decarbonisation journey. Another initiative in this area is underway in North America, where the company is working on a pilot project using membrane-based carbon capture technology at the Charlevoix site in Canada.
 
Investments in co-processing in Brazil 
In 2024 Votorantim Cimentos announced an investment of BRL5bn (US$849m) in a comprehensive programme for the structural growth and competitiveness of the company’s operations in Brazil through 2028. This programme, of which BRL1.9bn is already being invested, includes company sites in all regions of the country, with structural investments to increase competitiveness and co-processing capacity and significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
 
As part of this investment, in Xambioá, Tocantins state, a project to modernise the kiln and waste injection system increased the site’s co-processing rate to 54.5 per cent, exceeding expectations for the first year of the new system being in operation.
 
Additionally, in 2024, Votorantim Cimentos completed the first phase of a modernisation project in the Salto de Pirapora plant in São Paulo state, leading to an increase in the clinker production marginal capacity in the path to accelerating thermal substitution and reducing CO2 emissions.
 
Last year, the company also opened a waste processing site in Itaperuçu in Paraná state, dedicated exclusively to the operations of Verdera, a business unit specialised in sustainable waste management and disposal. The facility has the capacity to crush 48,000tpa of waste, tripling the proper and sustainable waste management and disposal capacity in Paraná. This site enables Votorantim Cimentos to move vertically, producing alternative fuel that will be used in its cement plants.