Key Performance Achievements
Direct emissions of carbon dioxide
(CO2) from UK cement manufacture have been reduced by
28% between 1990 and 2005, saving over 3.7 million tonnes of
CO2.
Between 1998 and 2005, the cement industry has
reduced its fossil fuel consumption by over 22%.
In 2005, around 15% of cement kiln fuels and
almost 5% of virgin raw materials were replaced by waste derived
materials, diverting over one million tonnes of waste which would
otherwise have been disposed of by incineration or landfill.
In 2004, the cement industry committed to the
principle ‘Revitalising Health and Safety – Cementing Best
Practice’ and the incident rate has fallen by 24% between 2003 and
2005.
An industry national stakeholders’ engagement event is now
established on an annual basis, in addition to many local
engagement initiatives at cement plants.
Cement Sector Plan
The industry has established with the Environment Agency a range
of environmental performance indicators to measure its progress
towards objectives and targets for environmental
improvements. The framework of the nationally agreed actions
and measurements is published by the Environment Agency in
'Improving environmental
performance - sector plan for the cement industry' and
'Measuring environmental performance - sector plan for
the cement industry'. The cement industry's corporate
responsibility report Performance charts industry progress
towards the 2006 and 2010 targets, agreed with the Environment
Agency against a 1990 baseline. For example, towards the
objective of reducing air emissions, between 1998 and 2005, the UK
cement industry achieved reductions in
CO2 to air of 11%; a 46% reduction in sulphure
dioxide; 17% in oxides of nitrogen; and a 60% reduction in
particulate matter. While striving to improve performance,
the industry experienced one dust incident in 2006. The
industry is taking measures to help ensure a similar incident does
not reoccur.
Environmental Performance
The Environment Agency's latest Spotlight report on the
environmental performance of businesses in England and Wales
(published July 2006), praises the good and 'names and shames' the
bad environmental performers over the previous year.
For the fifth year in a row, it highlighted the positive
contribution being made by the cement industry, saying:"The cement
sub-sector recovers over one million tonnes of waste to replace
five per cent of its raw materials and 12 per cent of its fossil
fuels. Burning this waste means these sites must comply with the
Waste Incineration Directive."
"The industry has spend about £500,000 on older plants, to
install new monitoring and pollution control equipment to meet the
new rules that applied from December 2005. We have worked with the
cement industry on a sector plan that sets out environmental
performance indicators and targets."
The full Spotlight report can be obtained from the Environment
Agency's website, www.environment-agency.gov.uk/