August 2025

UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA), which represents UK- based producers of cement and lime, has welcomed the UK government’s proposal to link the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS). The link was announced as part of a deal to streamline relations between the EU and UK. The MPA has been calling for a link between the UK and EU ETS since they were separated following the UK’s departure from the EU in 2020 and welcomed the announcement as part of the policy framework needed to support the sector. It said that linking the two schemes will give UK cement and lime producers access to a larger, more liquid carbon market, bringing the kind of stability that the sector needs to promote investment confidence.

However, the MPA has also repeated its calls for the government to tackle the high electricity costs that exacerbate the issues facing the industry, undermining its international competitiveness and making it vulnerable to imports. It has also reiterated the importance of delivering a watertight UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), levelling the carbon costs with imports from outside the EU and preventing decarbonisation by deindustrialisation.

EU: The European Parliament has approved proposed changes to the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) as part of efforts to reduce the administrative burden for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) and occasional importers. Members of the parliament adopted the text by 564 votes in favour, 20 against and with 12 abstentions.

While the changes do not affect large scale importers, including those of cement, they remove the need to pay for CBAM allowances for less than 50t of imports. This will exempt 90% of importers - mainly SMEs and individuals - that import only small quantities of CBAM-effected goods. However, the CBAM’s environmental objectives will reportedly remain achievable, as 99% of total CO2 emissions from imports of cement, iron, steel, aluminium and fertilisers would still be covered.

US: Microsoft has agreed to buy 0.62Mt of cement from Sublime Systems over the next 6 - 9 years. The low-carbon cement producer will supply its product from its first commercial factory in Holyoke, Massachusetts and its subsequent full-scale production factory. The purchase marks the first binding commitment for Sublime's full-scale plant, which it plans to bring online in 2030, two years after its plans to open its first commercial facility in Holyoke. The Holyoke plant is due to break ground in mid 2025.

The Somerville-based startup structured the deal using a ‘book and claim’ system that allows Microsoft to purchase cement and its environmental attributes separately when needed. The company says this approach is the first-of-its-kind in the cement industry, adapting a model previously used in renewable energy and sustainable aviation fuel markets. Under the agreement, Microsoft commits to using the environmental value of Sublime's cement in all cases, even when the physical material can't be deployed in nearby Microsoft construction projects.

“Sublime’s mission is to have a swift and massive impact measured in the amount of cement we produce and sell. So we are super-focused on increasing production,” said Leah Ellis, CEO of Sublime Systems. “We can't stop with Microsoft. We want to make sure we're supplying our material to many different types of infrastructure, so we'll also be pursuing various contracts and purchase agreements with folks who represent different types of the built environment.”

India: Adani Group has reported record earnings for the 2025 financial year (FY2025), which ended on 31 March 2025. It finished the 12 month period with consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$10.5bn across all of its operations. This represented a 8% rise year-on-year, and was mainly driven by continued expansion in the conglomerate’s infrastructure sectors.

Cement sales from its subsidiaries Ambuja Cement and ACC rose to more than 100Mt following expansions at several plants. It has plans to invest US$100bn across all of the sectors it is involved in, including ports, mining, cement, steel, power and more, by 2031.

“India’s consumption engine remains strong,” said Karan Adani, CEO of Adani Ports & SEZ and chair of ACC. “As manufacturing grows, trade volumes will surge.”

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has announced that Taiheiyo Cement’s US$67m Luzon Distribution Terminal, which will supply up to 0.7Mt/yr of cement to Luzon, will begin operations in early 2026. The plant will use a high proportion of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), including fly ash, slags and natural pozzolans.

Taiheiyo Cement has said that the terminal represents the Japan-based company’s long-term commitment to the Philippine cement market and that it is aware of recent DTI rules that aim to safeguard domestic cement producers.

Pakistan: The cement sector experienced a ‘substantial’ increase in earnings during the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 (from 1 January 2025 to 30 April 2025), according to a recent analysis of eight key producers. Collective earnings grew by a factor of 2.3 compared to the same period of the 2024 fiscal year (FY2024), primarily driven by an expansion in profit margins and dividend income from subsidiaries.

This came despite a comparatively modest 2% year-on-year increase in local cement dispatches, with the increased margin largely attributed to lower coal prices, alongside enhanced cost efficiencies and higher prices.

Looking forward, expectations are high for further margin gain. Rising cement prices, particularly in the north, are anticipated to support this trend. Additionally, continued low international coal prices are likely to benefit companies operating in the south.

US: Eagle Materials recorded net earnings of US$463m of in the 2025 fiscal year (FY2025), which ended on 31 March 2025. This represented a 3% year-on-year fall. The company achieved a record revenue of US$2.3bn, marginally higher than the amount seen in FY2024.

Eagle Materials’ revenues from its Heavy Materials segment, which includes cement, concrete and aggregates, fell by 2% year-on-year to US$1.4bn. Net earnings from this sector were US$320m, 6% lower year-on-year. Cement volumes were also down by 5% to 6.9Mt.

Commenting on the annual results, Michael Haack, President and CEO, said “We are pleased to report another year of strong financial, strategic and operational performance at Eagle. In FY2025, we generated record revenues of US$2.3bn and a gross profit margin of 30%, continued to advance our long-term growth and value-creation strategies and achieved important milestones in employee health and safety.”

Haack added that results in the Heavy Material sector were ‘dented’ by adverse weather in January and February 2025. Higher production costs also dragged on results as the company brought forward an annual maintenance outage at one facility and experienced weather-related interruptions at other facilities.

Poland: Cement producers are calling on the European Commission to introduce quotas on imports from Ukraine, to limit their volumes to 0.36Mt/yr. This figure is almost half of the 2024 figure. Poland imported 0.1Mt of cement from Ukraine in 2022, but more than 0.65Mt in 2024. Forecasts for 2025 exceed 1.0Mt, a 10-fold increase in just three years. Ukraine exported 1.7Mt of cement to EU countries in 2024.

The Polish Association of Cement Producers (ACP) believes that the increase in imports is already harming local cement plants, which it says are forced to compete with Ukrainian suppliers on unequal terms. Wlodzimierz Choluy, a member of the ACP's board of directors, emphasised that the effects of imports were becoming particularly noticeable in the border regions of Podkarpacie and Lublin voivodeships.

Polish manufacturers complain that Ukraine is not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), meaning that Polish-made cement is at a cost disadvantage. This is known as ‘carbon leakage.’

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has partnered with SwitchLabs Automobiles to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) into its logistics network. The company says that this represents a strategic step towards cleaner transportation and more sustainable supply chain practices. According to a press release, the EVs will operate on the route between the JK Lakshmi Puram cement plant in Sirohi, Rajasthan, and the Kalol Grinding Unit in Kalol in the state of Gujarat, a distance of around 225km each way.

The initiative builds on the success of a previous pilot project, which demonstrated a substantial reduction in CO₂ emissions while maintaining operational efficiency. By integrating clean mobility into its logistics operations, JK Lakshmi Cement aims to reduce its environmental footprint and contribute to India’s broader transition to sustainable infrastructure.

France: Two workers have been hospitalised following an explosion at Heidelberg Materials’ Airvault cement plant. They were dismantling an old gas tank at the plant on 20 May 2025 when it exploded at around 17:30 local time, according to the La Nouvelle République newspaper. One worker was taken to a specialist burns unit and the other suffered an injured ankle.

Heidelberg Materials has launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the explosion.