WBCSD/CSI Progress Review

WBCSD/Cement Sustainability Initiative

Established in 1999 as a sector-project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the CSI has focused on understanding and tackling the industry’s major sustainability challenges, while minimizing the impacts of cement production and use. TITAN has been involved in CSI’s work from the very beginning by sponsoring WBSCD’s independent study that led to the formation of the Cement Sustainability Initiative, while officially joining CSI as a core member in 2003.

CSI - Activities in 2009

Over the last year, CSI’s work focused on:

“Getting the Numbers Right” (GNR): The GNR, a CO2 and energy performance information system is made to serve CSI’s blueprint for action in addressing climate change. Based on emissions data from 43 cement companies, the GNR collects, collates and analyses representative statistical information on the clinker and cement production globally, providing an up-to-date basis for emissions benchmarking-setting. In 2009, the CSI published an updated GNR report covering the period 1990–2006, including information from 844 cement installations worldwide which correspond to over 73% of cement production in Kyoto Annex I countries.
“Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Verification”: The CSI contributed to the streamlining of the CDM process by putting forward a new benchmarking methodology. This new methodology is based on a novel approach whereby a Project’s baseline scenario (i.e. what would have happened in the absence of the CDM project) is defined on regional specific benchmarks against which the actual performance of the CDM Project is measured.
The “International Energy Agency (IEA) Technology Roadmap” is a response to a relevant G8 leaders’ request in 2008. Working closely with the CSI, IEA published in 2009 the first such industry-specific roadmap outlining all existing and potential technologies in the cement sector that could enable the cement industry to make continued contributions towards significant emissions reductions.
Expansion of membership to China: In 2009 the CSI has also worked to expand its membership to emerging markets, particularly China, where half of global cement production takes place. Three Chinese cement companies applied to become CSI members in 2009.
New guidelines to improve health and safety were published by the CSI’s safety task force fostering improvements in drivers’ and contractors’ safety performance. CSI-member companies, signed up to a 5-year implementation plan of all proposed recommendations and guidelines, which will start by an initial gap analysis on the Health and Safety systems and procedures that are already in place and those that are still needed.
Concrete Sustainability: A CSI Report on concrete recycling was also published in 2009. The report aims to initiate the vision of “zero landfill” of concrete and recommends improved data collection on construction and demolition waste as well as better policy incentives for recycling. A new task force on “Concrete Sustainability” was launched to foster further developments in this field.

CSI: 10 years of joint action

During the first 10 years of its existence, CSI has made significant progress in understanding and mitigate the environmental and social impacts of the cement industry’s operations, having also emerged as the single global voice of the cement industry on Sustainability issues. With projects and initiatives launched on various issues -from Climate Change and Health & Safety to Quarry Management and use of Alternative Fuels- CSI has managed to merge different views and approaches into action plans and recommendations, while setting specific targets and benchmarks and holding its members against accountable thereby.

Today CSI is a global organization comprising 21 major cement producers who believe there is a strong business case for the pursuit of sustainable development. Collectively these companies -generating in more than 100 countries- account for about 40% of the world’s cement production and range in size from large multinationals to small independent producers.

With many of its originally-set goals achieved, CSI now plans to review its mission and structure and set new goals for the next decade. By refining its sectoral approach proposal, CSI focuses on raising awareness and making it more accessible to all stakeholders. Monitoring and contributing to the climate change debate and, where necessary, developing positions on relevant topics such as standardization and offsets, encouraging the implementation of the safety initiatives and developing a work program on Concrete Sustainability are CSI’s main priorities agreed by its members.