Germany: The German Cement Works Association (VDZ) has lobbied national and European Union governments for ‘appropriate and reliable’ framework conditions for the industry’s to realise its sustainability objectives. Its Environmental Data of the German Cement Industry 2020 report set out the sector’s agenda under three overlapping headings: climate neutrality by 2050, preservation of primary raw materials and air pollution control. The VDZ said that government support for the necessary ‘unprecedented’ reduction in CO₂ emissions will be especially vital in the area of renewable power and the creation of a functioning CO₂ infrastructure.

VDZ president Christian Knell said “The often bureaucratic and complex processes involved in approval procedures and applications for funds to finance necessary investments are a cause for concern.”

UK: Cemex UK has relaunched its used pallet collection service. The scheme aims to reduce timber waste in its supply chain, according to the company. It forms part of its Future in Action – Committed to Net Zero CO2 climate action strategy. Its partner ELM will collect stockists’ pallets free of charge for refurbishment and return to Cemex UK. It will reuse all repaired pallets and recycle those damaged beyond repair.

Packed cement sales manager Graeme Barton said “We want to make life easier for our merchants to work with us to reduce waste. We’d like to make pallet recovery part of the standard delivery process, as many pallets still end up in landfill. It is increasingly costly to dispose of pallet waste and there is far greater value to be gained by recycling and reuse. Rising timber costs, combined with pallet shortages, means there is a heightened need to conserve and maintain pallets throughout the supply chain. Recovery is considerably more cost effective than buying new replacements.” He added “Pallets are a standard format in transporting building products and contribute a significant financial and environmental cost which needs to be captured by the user. We saw a similar situation with supermarkets and plastic bags, but we’d rather not wait for legislation to enforce this; we’d really like to make a difference now with preventative action. The pallet recovery service is regenerative by design and aims to support the key principals of the circular economy to benefit business, society and the environment. If we all pull together it will have a significant impact across the whole supply chain.”

Denmark: Aalborg Portland Cement will begin construction of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at its Rørdal, North Jutland, cement plant. It will collaborate with Project Greensand CCS consortium partners to store the captured CO2 in drained oilfields below the North Sea. The company estimates that the Danish part of the North Sea has 16Gt of CO2 storage capacity, out of 300Gt under all EU waters. The endeavour aims to help Denmark to realise its targeted 70% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030.

Research and development director Jesper Sand-Damtoft said “The establishment of capture facilities, transformation from carbon to gas and transport to the North Sea all require great investments from a business such as ours, and the realisation of the climate potential thus depends greatly on financial support.”

Pakistan: DG Khan has connected its upgraded Hub cement plant and power infrastructure to the national grid. The Pakistan Observer newspaper has reported that the facilities generate 40MW of power via a 10MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant and 30MW coal-fired power plant. China National Building Material (CNBM) subsidiary Sinoma Energy Conservation provided engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for both power plants.