August 6, 2012, Geneva, Switzerland - Member companies of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD) Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), ACC Limited, Shree Cement Ltd and Ultratech Cement Ltd, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced signing of cooperation agreements to support low carbon investment in the Indian cement sector.

The cooperation agreements are part of a project the industry is co-leading, to develop the Low Carbon Technology Roadmap for the Indian Cement Industry. The Indian roadmap, to be launched in late 2012, will be the first roadmap to focus on one specific industrial sector in a single country. WBCSD’s CSI and the International Energy Agency (IEA) 2009 Global Cement Technology roadmap was the first report of its kind to provide an ambitious vision for carbon emissions reductions for one industry sector as a whole, up to 2050. The roadmap outlines a possible transition path for the industry to make continued contributions towards a halving of global CO₂ emissions by 2050. As part of this contribution, this roadmap estimates that the cement industry could reduce its direct emissions 18 percent from 2005 levels by 2050.

Involvement from the IFC has enabled the WBCSD to widen the project’s coverage and scope. As part of the roadmap project, a set of technical papers on greenhouse gas emission reductions relevant to the Indian cement industry has been developed. IFC support will enable CSI member companies in India to undertake a resource efficiency assessment looking into feasibility of implementation of these technologies at selected manufacturing locations. The assessment will identify specific areas where investments related to energy efficiency, technology up-gradation, material conservation etc. could lead to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions.

Philippe Fonta, Managing Director of the CSI, announcing the cooperation, said: “I’m delighted to see the roadmap project co-chair companies sign cooperation agreements with IFC, to assess practical implementation of low-carbon technologies at specific plants. Through this, member companies in India continue to contribute to CSI’s global efforts to lead the industry to a lower carbon future. With 25 members in over 100 countries, CSI can reach out to the cement industry globally and will share the learning from this important work in India with the industry more broadly.”

Ramesh Ramanathan, Manager, (Manufacturing, Agri business and services), IFC South Asia said: “While public policy responses are critical in addressing climate change, the private sector also plays a leading role in providing innovative business solutions. IFC works with domestic and international partners to catalyze resources and help business fill financing and knowledge gaps in areas such as renewable energy and efficient technologies. We view the roadmap project as a unique initiative to share best practices in sustainability.”                                   

The India roadmap is being developed collaboratively by the WBCSD’s CSI and the IFC. It is led by CSI member companies in India, which represent over 65 percent of the country’s cement production. They are: ACC Ltd, Ambuja Cements, Dalmia Bharat Cement Ltd, HeidelbergCement India Ltd, Jaypee Cements Ltd, Lafarge India Private Ltd, My Home Industries Ltd / CRH, Shree Cement, Shree Digvijay Cement Co Ltd – Cimpor Group, UltraTech Cement and Zuari Cement. The IFC is bringing expertise in data analysis and modeling, and roadmap development. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the National Council are providing technical consultancy for Cement and Building Materials (NCB). The global Cement Technology Roadmap 2009 is available at: www.wbcsdcement.org/technology.