Energy and climate change

The calcination process and combustion of fuel in the production of cement leads to emissions of CO₂. Although our products provide benefits from a lifecycle perspective, the nature of the production process is such that on a global scale the cement industry is responsible for about 4-5 percent of the world’s total CO₂ emissions. We are therefore committed to reducing our net CO₂ emissions as much as possible, predominately by increasing our use of alternative fuels, reducing the clinker content in the cement and improving energy efficiency in production. 
Our main challenge is the limitations of current wet kiln technology, which hamper the possibilities to substantially decrease CO₂ emissions from current levels. We will only be able to achieve significant reductions through the construction of a new plant, based on dry kiln technology.

Goals and objectives

• Reduce our CO₂ emissions from production
• Reduce specific net CO₂ emissions (CO₂/ton of cement) by 15 percent compared to 1990
• Decrease absolute net CO₂ emissions (CO₂/million tons).

For more information please read

HeidelbergCement Northern Europe Sustainability Report 2009 (PDF; 4,08MB) 
Kunda appendix "Sustainable cement plant 2010" (PDF; 916 KB)