This Company Wants to Cut Emissions to Zero in the Dirty Cement Business

(Bloomberg) -- Europe’s biggest maker of cement plants is looking for help to clean up one of the world’s dirtiest industries.

FLSmidth A/S, which is based in climate-friendly Denmark, wants to reduce emissions in cement production to zero by 2030. The company says it can achieve 70% of that target by leveraging existing technologies, for instance by blending clinker with alternative materials.

For the remaining 30%, FLSmidth will “actively seek knowledge partnerships with other companies and suppliers to co-create solutions,” the company said Wednesday in a report on its new green goals.

FLSmidth, which also has a unit that makes equipment for mining companies, wants to develop ways to cut emissions and water waste in that industry as well. The Copenhagen-based firm already offers a dry-stack tailings solution it says is capable of recovering up to 95% of process water.

“MissionZero goes beyond what is feasible today, and requires a paradigm shift in how industry players collaborate and innovate,” Chief Executive Officer Thomas Schulz said in a statement. “As a leader in the cement and mining industries, we have a responsibility to accelerate the adoption of sustainable solutions.”

Facts & Figures

• Cement production is the source of 7% of global CO2 emissions
• Global consumption of cement has increased 278% over the past 20 years
• Growth in global demand for water is set to exceed supply by 40% by 2030
• The world population is expected to reach 8.5 billion in 2030

Source: FLSmidth, UN, Bloomberg, IEA

To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Rigillo in Copenhagen at nrigillo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christian Wienberg at cwienberg@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo

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