Cement Sustainability Initiative

The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) is a voluntary initiative by 18 of the world’s major cement producers, promoting greater sustainability in the cement industry in co-operation with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The companies that are part of the CSI account for more than 40% of the world’s cement production.  The CSI have developed an Agenda for Action which highlights six critical issues that need to be tackled and have set up task forces on these issues:

• Climate protection and CO₂ management
• Responsible use of fuels and materials
• Employee health and safety
• Emissions monitoring and reporting
• Local impacts on land and communities
• Reporting and communications

The Climate Protection Task Force (TF1), as part of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), aims to improve the quality of public information available, particularly for companies working to manage emissions accounting, emissions limitations, and emissions trading. In June 2005, the Task Force produced a protocol for measuring and reporting CO₂ emissions that is consistent with the World Resources Institute (WRI)/WBCSD Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.

This protocol is intended as a tool for cement companies worldwide. It provides a harmonised methodology for calculating CO₂ emissions, with a view to reporting these emissions for various purposes. It addresses all direct and the main indirect sources of CO₂ emissions related to the cement manufacturing process in absolute as well as specific or unit-based terms.