I was a guest speaker at Intercem Asia 2017, which was held in Jakarta from 11-13 Sept, and spoke on the topic of sustainability reporting for the cement industry, specifically on what could be material issues for the cement industry.
Cement production is the source of 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than all the world’s cars put together. Most of this is due to chemical processes and heat requirements. It is quite evident that environmental issues are material, but if we look at the supply chain of the cement industry, there could also be other areas for concern, such a rights of indigeneous people when companies use land for building the plants, or even possibly child labor, if we think about where the materials such as limestone could be mined from. Environmental topics usually pop up in most people’s minds when they think about sustainability. While those are important, we shouldn’t forget about social topics, e.g. human rights, local communities and health and safety of workers.
Photo credit: Intercem