Turkey: OYAK Cement has detailed its progress towards net zero CO₂ cement production in its Integrated Report 2021. The report's focus is sustainability and digitalisation. Under itsCement 4.0 CO₂ emissions reduction initiative, OYAK Cement has proceeded with efficiency improvements at its cement plants.

OYAK Cement is committed to net zero CO₂ cement production by 2050 and reductions in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global climate change to 1.5°C by 2030.The producer is collaborating withthe Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to realise its emission reduction goals.

Canada/US: Holcim North America has invested in Blue Planet to support the development and commercialisation of its mineralisation technology. Blue Planet’s process sequesters CO₂ with building waste feedstock such as recycled concrete, cement kiln dust (CKD) and slag to produce new aggregate products. Each tonne of Blue Planet’s aggregate can mineralize up to 440kg of captured CO₂. Lafarge Canada, Holcim US, and Blue Planet will start a multi-year collaboration to help identify potential to use the mineralisation technology to further lower the carbon footprint of the companies’ cement, aggregates and concrete operations, with the potential to expand to other operations in the Holcim Group around the world.

“This is an important step for us in North America. Our vision is to transform our St Constant Plant in Montreal into a carbon campus that ultimately advances commercialisation of mineralisation technologies, including Blue Planet’s products,” said David Redfern, president and chief executive officer, Lafarge Canada. “We look forward to advancing our Net Zero strategy by leveraging mineralization technology that allows us to use the CO₂ from our own cement plants to produce carbon neutral or carbon negative sand and gravel products.”

South Korea: A truck driver strike has ended after seven days. The Korea Herald newspaper has reported that the government has agreed to extend a freight rate-based minimum wage system. The total cost to the cement industry was US$70.6m,

Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement says that the Jeddah Commercial Court has ruled in its favour in a lawsuit it filed against Emaar, the Economic City Company, to claim outstanding quantities of limestone it was due in an agreement the companies signed in 2012. The court has ordered Emaar to give Arabian Cement around 4.6Mt of limestone. As part of the deal, from 2012 to 2018, Emaar agreed to provide the cement company with 44.7Mt of limestone. However, Arabian Cement maintains that it did not receive 5.3Mt of the total.

Arabian Cement previously gave land to Emaar in return for a limestone supply deal. Emmar company has been developing the King Abdullah Economic City.