Europe: 12 decarbonisation-focused companies from across the European cement and concrete sector have launched the Alliance for Low-Carbon Cement & Concrete (ALCCC). The alliance has called on policymakers to change building standards to help low-carbon alternatives to enter the cement and concrete markets. It further said that green procurement and targeted financing instruments would help to reduce sectoral CO₂ emissions. It said that a progressive decline in clinker factor to 60%, 50% or 40% by 2050 will reduce CO₂ emissions by over 50%. The ALCCC says that it is ready to lead the sector towards a swift, low-cost and viable decarbonisation pathway. Participants in the alliance include France-based Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies, Ireland-based Ecocem and US-based Fortera.

Fortera's Europe director Thierry Legrand said "Climate action is a global priority, and collaboration is essential to advancing emissions-reducing technologies and policies. This alliance represents collective action by scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and environmental advocates to reduce CO₂ emissions from cement production."

India: JK Cement's consolidated income rose by 21% year-on-year to US$1.19bn in the 2023 financial year, from US$983m in the 2022 financial year, Accord Fintech News has reported. High costs caused the group's net profit to fall by 38% to US$50.7m from US$82.1m.

Germany: Holcim Deutschland has commenced a carbon capture trial at its 950,000t/yr Beckum cement plant in Beckum-Kollenbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The trial will employ amine scrubbing technology to separate CO₂, which it will then seek to commercialise for other industrial uses. Holcim Deutschland's partners for the project are Technische Universität Berlin and construction engineering firm thyssenkrupp Uhde. The trial also has funding from the German government.

Bangladesh: Premier Cement Mills plans to install a new vertical roller mill at its West Mukterpur cement plant in Munshiganj. For this purpose, it secured a US$32.7m long-term loan from state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL). The New Nation newspaper has reported that IDCOL focuses on financing projects to increase energy efficiency, alongside the development of renewable energy.

Kenya: A court has authorised an auction of East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC)'s moveable property to proceed, in order to pay former staff. The Nation newspaper has reported that EAPCC owes the employees US$10m in unpaid wages. The court allowed the auction in favour of 60 claimants. It instructed a further 150 claimants to seek redress by other means, due to insufficient available proceeds from the sale.

India: Anjani Portland Cement recorded sales of US$80m in the 2023 financial year. This corresponds to a 17% year-on-year drop from US$97m in the previous financial year. India InfoLine News has reported that the producer's total expenditure also dropped, by 2.6% to US$77.4m from US$79.5m. It reported a net loss after minority interests of US$7.03m, compared to a net profit of US$5.01m in the 2022 financial year.

Peru: Invercem has successfully commissioned its new 220,000t/yr Pisco grinding plant in Ica Department. Management News has reported that the plant cost US$30m to build. Cemex Peru will supply clinker for use in cement production at the plant. Invercem plans to supply cement produced at the plant to the Cusco market under the Patrón brand. The company says that the facility has the potential to further expand up to a capacity of 330,000t/yr. In the longer term, Invercem aims to establish an integrated cement plant and limestone mine.

Dominican Republic: Germany-based Gebr. Pfeiffer has received an order for an MVR 3750 C-4 vertical roller mill from Estrella Group subsidiary Cemento PANAM. Cemento PANAM plans to install the mill at an upcoming grinding plant. It will be equipped with an SLS 4000 VC classifier and will produce 155t/hr of blended cement. China-based CBMI Construction will handle the order.

CBMI Construction previously won a contract to build a Cemento PANAM grinding plant in the Dominican Republic in March 2023. Global Cement News reported the capacity of the plant as 1.23Mt/yr.

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has inaugurated the Port Canaveral slag cement plant and terminal in Florida, following an expansion. MENAFN News has reported that the producer invested US$24m in the installation of a new roller press at the facility.

Heidelberg Materials North America said "Heidelberg Materials' investment in the Port Canaveral slag cement facility is reflective of our commitment to supporting sustainable and resilient construction projects in the state of Florida and throughout the country. It is also aligned with our goal to significantly reduce our carbon footprint by 2030 and another milestone in our overall strategy to grow our portfolio of more sustainable products, technologies and customer-focused solutions on the path to Net Zero."

Mauritania: The National Confederation of Mauritanian Workers has called a seven-day strike of Ciments de l’Afrique (CIMAF) employees from 31 May to 6 June 2023. IHS Global Insight Daily News has reported that the union called the strike over working conditions at the company and to demand that it elect workers’ representatives. The strike will likely result in cement supply disruptions and backlogs at export terminals.