HeidelbergCement pulls forward emission reduction target
Clean Energy Wire
HeidelbergCement, one of the world's largest cement makers, has stepped up its climate ambitions. The German company said it would reduce CO2 emissions per tonne by 30 percent by 2025 compared to 1990 levels, five years earlier than previously planned. "By 2025, the company aims to reduce specific net CO2 emissions to below 525 kg per tonne of cementitious material," the company said in a press release, adding it had already reduced emissions by 22 percent between 1990 and 2019, and that emissions are expected to fall to below 500 kg per tonne by 2030. "HeidelbergCement aims to be a pioneer in the building materials industry in the gradual reduction of CO2 emissions. The company aims to offer CO2-neutral concrete by 2050 at the latest."
HeidelbergCement employs some 54,000 people at more than 3,000 locations in over 50 countries. Cement production is one of the most carbon-intensive industrial processes and causes two percent of German and eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the environmental NGO WWF. The material is indispensable for infrastructure and building construction and demand will likely continue to increase, meaning that finding a low- or no-CO₂ production process is essential for climate protection. Germany's national hydrogen strategy names cement as one of the industries without current alternatives for deep emission cuts.
