UK: Breedon Group is pressing for further action to ensure what it calls a ‘level playing field’ for UK cement producers, as it continues its campaign for greater government support for domestic production. The construction materials group welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s recent comments on supporting British industry and Chancellor John Healey’s call to ‘buy British by design’ when it comes to government projects.
Breedon Group launched its Back British Cement campaign in January 2026, calling for urgent action to secure the future of domestic cement production. It supplies around 2Mt/yr of cement annually from its UK and Irish operations. However, UK cement production is now at its lowest level since 1950, with domestic producers facing ‘structurally-uncompetitive’ industrial electricity costs and ‘uneven’ carbon regulations compared with foreign importers, which now account for more than a third of UK cement sales.
Breedon is calling for further clarification and progress in five areas. These include strengthening the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) ahead of its implementation in January 2027 to ensure that imported cement faces carbon costs that are equivalent to the amount paid by UK producers. It also called for continued alignment between UK and EU carbon pricing to reduce trade friction.
The company is also calling for cement to be included in industrial electricity compensation schemes to address high power costs, for cement and concrete to be recognised as strategic materials in government procurement and for faster support for carbon capture, fuel switching and other low-carbon technologies to help domestic cement producers decarbonise while remaining competitive.
