Environment
Our main focus is on water, agro-based livelihood, skill and health
Published
5 years agoon
By
admin
– Pearl Tiwari, Director and CEO, Ambuja Cement Foundation
What are the activities you are involved under CSR commitment and how the government mandate is prescribing various benchmarks?
Ambuja Cements (ACL) undertakes community development activities through its CSR Foundation, Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) where it completely focuses on the prosperity of the rural communities. Being a manufacturing company with sites all around rural areas, CSR has been an integral part of Ambuja Cements since inception. The company emphasised that the host communities holds a vulnerable population and there is a need to co-exist collaboratively in order to earn its license to operate. The founders believed that as the company prospers, so should the community. Thus to integrate business and community needs, community engagement plans are prepared in close engagement with the community and the business unit. This helps in stakeholder engagement and benefit from our CSR, which is an important part of a sustainable business.
Conducting a needs assessment in the areas and finalising on six thrust areas is based on community participation with the help of tools like participatory rural appraisals, which ensure a better understanding of the local nuances and helps in efficiently implementing programmes in various geographies. These thrust areas include water resource management, livelihood like agro-based and skill and entrepreneurship development, women empowerment, healthcare and education. Here is a small brief about each programme:
Water resource management: The water programme works to enhance water and land resources in the communities around the manufacturing plants. The programme promotes rainwater harvesting through indigenous and new technologies, promotes micro irrigation methods and constructs check dams, percolation wells and rooftop rain water harvesting structures.
Agro-based livelihoods: Agro-based livelihood generation is one of our key programmes, in which, we supports farmers through scientific inputs, promotion of sustainable farming practices, as well as through capacity building programmes.
Skill and entrepreneurship development (SEDI): The skill programme offers short and intensive courses in different trades that prepares youth to enter the occupational world through our skilling centres (SEDI). SEDI aims to achieve sustainable livelihood by strengthening their vocational skills through quality training. Basic computer skills, knowledge of functional English and soft skills are compulsory components of all training programmes conducted at SEDIs.
Women empowerment: The closest indicator of an empowered woman is her social status as a decision making authority. Gaining financial independence is seen to have a great impact in boosting woman’s confidence and decision making ability. We supports SHGs and their entrepreneurial activities across locations through regular trainings, skill building and promotion of income generation activities.
Comprehensive healthcare: The comprehensive health intervention addresses clinical, preventive and promotive aspects of health across communities.The programme is led by a cadre of ACF-trained, village-based health workers called Sakhis, ensuring basic health care at the village level, and refer patients for timely medical intervention whenever needed.
Quality education: Through the education programme, ACF seeks to raise the quality of education imparted in village-level government schools. We also run many non-formal education centres for out-of-school children. This process empowers children with quality education and helps them move into a mainstream education system.
We also try and integrate our programmes with each other like building skills and providing basic health and sanitation or encourage agro-based activities across our women groups bringing about gender equality. This whole model that we have developed is implemented by ACF, which holds a community of managerial and professional experts who make the beneficiaries the centre point as the project cycle moves thus for the programme to stay sustained and ensure long term impacts. While our geographies remain consistent, once our projects are fully matured and all support provided we exit from stakeholder engagement and handover the project to the community who take full ownership.
How are the actual and prescribed budgets for the last three years? Please give details of allocations for various activities. How long will it take for you to complete the mission you have undertaken in that particular region?
In regard to CSR we have had a consistent growth in the last three years with a large focus on water, agro-based livelihood, skill and health. As you see in the below graph we have been steadily growing in actual funds but we are also matching funds from external sources both government and other funds available helping us expand our outreach substantially. Our programmes are on an on-going basis and are frequently modified, rectified and changed based on the needs of the communities. Ambuja Cements is always known to be involved in community development even before the CSR law was implemented. As the CSR law mandates companies to spend 2 per cent of their profits for CSR activities, Ambuja Cements has been dedicating 3 to 4 per cent of their profits for the last many years.
What has been the impact of various CSR activities in various geographies? What is the criterion adopted in choosing the target group or community for CSR initiatives?
We have seen large impacts through our water programme working in different terrains like addressing salinity ingress and pushing back more than 10-11 km in coastal Saurashtra, which is one of the most difficult areas because of salinity and drought. Or working with the community in our health programme to increase institutional deliveries which is now far lower than the national average, improve the conditions of malnutrition and even turn villages open-defecation free. We have had some improvements in our agro-based programme as well where the farmers are now able to use water efficiently, see an increase in the number of women farmers and also being able to increase the farmers income by two times. Some of the major impacts are given below.
- Working with over 2.5 lakh farmers across locations
- 18,189 enterprises started by SEDI graduates
- 146 villages with 100 per cent toilet coverages
- 371 Number of sakhis (village health workers)
- 5 tobacco-free villages 74 tobacco-free schools
- Spent over Rs. 160 crores to create a water storage capacity of 55.60 million cubic metres
- 47 times increase in outreach to farmers under BCI in last 9 years
- 2424 SHGs with a corpus fund of Rs. 14.44 crore
We select our target communities based on the areas surrounding our manufacturing site. We believe in the idea of as the company prosperous so should the community and try replicating the programme models in all our 11 States along with the help of our partners. We have been in the development sector for the last 27 years and so while we have conducted frequent impact assessments, we have a full-fledged monitoring and evaluation team who looks after data monitoring on the ground and some of the studies goes through publications and external audiences.
Can you give us the best case study that has yielded highest/ best results?
We work in water starved areas where focus on water in core for domestic use, drinking water or agriculture. This programme has given us the experience to work in different terrains like the desert areas, mountainous regions or where the salinity in water is very high. The company took water sustainability as its target since the last ten years and measured the water taken as compared to the water given back which has worked in our advantage as we are the only cement company in the industry to be 7.99 times water positive.
One of our best stories is on our salinity pushback in Kodinar, Gujarat which lies in coastal Saurashtra and the water comes from the Arabian sea. The salinity had seeped inland up to 15 kms and the Total dissolved solids were more than 2000 mg/litre leading to all that the communities were receiving was salty water.
Kodinar’s main occupation is agriculture however while farmers modernised and gained better access to pumping technology, water levels began to drop as water was pumped to the surface for irrigation continuously. This worsened the situation as the water tables dropped drastically and salinity crept inwards. Once in, salinity affects everything in its path. Plants won’t grow, livestock won’t drink and families remain thirsty.
As a practice of Ambuja Cements, to bring about solutions, we listened to the traditional wisdom of the community and mobilised them into action. By partnering with the government and other development agencies we could achieve large scale projects like building 376 check dams and over 5700 rainwater harvesting structures which when full could supply 52 mcm of water back to the communities. While structures were built, educating the people on the right usage of precious resource was the key. Thus we launched a large scale programme to encourage willing farmers to adopt drip irrigation systems.
This helped us manage the demand and supply of water, have plenty of water even in days of drought, push salinity back by 8 km towards the sea and 100 villages now having sweet water thus solving drinking water woes and having a thriving agricultural produce.
What are the crushing challenges the country is facing in the socio-economic sphere and CSR activities can contribute towards fulfilling these needs?
India is an emerging economy and while we stand 2nd with the largest population, the lower income group don’t even have decent or dignified living conditions sometimes scrapping through life with no basic facilities like healthcare and infrastructure. In India there is huge gap between the rich and the poor where basic services are also unavailable and issues like these needs to be addressed and fulfilled.
Like Ambuja Cements, most of the manufacturing companies have their plant locations in territories likes ours and developing those territories needs to be set up as a priority for such companies. In this way the communities are developed, reap the benefits and also provide the companies with a license to operate. In this way the functioning of companies in such areas become easier and community looks at such companies positively and as preferred neighbours. This becomes meaningful CSR.
What are the CSR activities you have undertaken on outbreak of Covid-19 and what are the challenges did you face?
In order to spread awareness and protect rural India from the outbreak of coronavirus, we launched interventions as per the guidelines by WHO and the Ministry of Healthcare. The health team has been at the forefront during this critical time in creating awareness about Covid-19 in its core villages.
Due to our poor public health system especially in our geographies there was a need to focus on educating and creating awareness amongst our beneficiaries. We had to see behaviour change like (social distancing, hand washing etc) practiced in our communities to curb the virus. Some of our interventions are mentioned below.
Initial phase: At the initial phase, we distributed pamphlets, posters, set up banners all across the villages to spread awareness about the virus. Our community volunteers conducted demonstration of hand washing and social distancing for the communities. In association with the health authorities and panchayats, our women health workers also known as Sakhis were identifying migrant workers returning home and conducting health check-ups. They were also conducting daily follow ups to check for any symptoms. We provided temperature measuring meters at each block level health care centre for the screening of suspected cases. Community areas like wells, open spaces, shops were also drawn with white boxes to follow social distancing.
Lockdown announcement: Once lockdown was announced, the staff was unable to visit the beneficiaries leading to a challenge of sharing information. The team turned to digital mechanisms and developed audio notes, video messages in different languages and formedcommunity WhatsApp groups to disseminate communication materials. Single Point of Contact (SPOCS) volunteers residing in the same village were also appointed as a link between the beneficiaries and us. A database of all helpline numbers, testing centres, isolation words, treatment centres was all mapped and sent to the beneficiaries. A list of vulnerable groups like elderly, children and expecting mothers was also developed and the right kind of messages was also disseminated with SPOCs following up on a daily basis. As the country’s progress started deteriorating, we developed targeted messages for stakeholders like farmers and truckers.
Extended lockdown: With the extension of the lockdown, many communities especially the low income groups suffered from limited income generation. We initiated livelihood opportunities for women to develop face masks and sell them in the market. Ambuja Cements also procured some from the women. A total of two lakh face masks has been developed till date. Women holding a small piece of land have also converted it into a kitchen garden under the guidance of ACF and now selling their produce in the market. During the initial phase of lockdown when the stress was felt by the casual and daily labour workers, Ambuja Cements collaborated with a few NGOs to distribute ration kits supporting a population of over 85,000 in Mumbai and Delhi and in some of our geographies for a period of 15 days.
The virus is going to stick around with us for a while now and we are seeing a lot of initiatives especially in the health system being less prioritized and left behind like Vaccination or the Tuberculosis programme. We have tried to integrate Covid into our already existing programmes. We have got back to our activities and projects and made modifications like changing our skill programme to an online based training or conducting farmer or community meetings through digital mechanisms.
How do you think the CSR scenario will pan out in general in the next two to three years, in the wake of Covid-19 impact on business revenues and profitability?
Currently businesses are extensively affected due to the pandemic and the amount of money for CSR is going to be less.. With the MoCA announcing Covid relief funds eligible for CSR activities, most of the companies have directed their funds to Covid relief but what about rehabilitation and infrastructure. Also with the Covid fund, many have transferred funds directed to the government central fund and the budgets for other initiatives is going to be far more reduced. The concentration on Covid is so high that basic programmes of vaccination and tuberculosis which were moving in the right direction and able to reach their targets have all been stalled due to inadequate support.
When lockdown was announced in early march, we lost the months of March and April which are crucial to develop water projects so that we are ready for monsoon. But due to norms and social distancing these projects have also been delayed.
Apart from the growing concern for Covid, India still needs to focus on water, health, vaccination which will all crumble if not taken care of immediately. We as CSR spenders need to now integrate Covid with our current programmes to maintain balance. As previously mentioned in the last four months through our foundation we have worked in collaboration with local health department, panchayats, etc. and integrated Covid support into all our programmes be in water, livelihoods or the others. We are restarted our regular programmes but now have also included Covid interventions into them.
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The Indian cement industry has reached a critical juncture in its sustainability journey. In a landmark move, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has, for the first time, announced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity reduction targets for 282 entities, including 186 cement plants, under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, 2023. These targets, to be enforced starting FY2025-26, are aligned with India’s overarching ambition of achieving net zero emissions by 2070.
Cement manufacturing is intrinsically carbon-intensive, contributing to around 7 per cent of global GHG emissions, or approximately 3.8 billion tonnes annually. In India, the sector is responsible for 6 per cent of total emissions, underscoring its critical role in national climate mitigation strategies. This regulatory push, though long overdue, marks a significant shift towards accountability and structured decarbonisation.
However, the path to a greener cement sector is fraught with challenges—economic viability, regulatory ambiguity, and technical limitations continue to hinder the widespread adoption of sustainable alternatives. A major gap lies in the lack of a clear, India-specific definition for ‘green cement’, which is essential to establish standards and drive industry-wide transformation.
Despite these hurdles, the industry holds immense potential to emerge as a climate champion. Studies estimate that through targeted decarbonisation strategies—ranging from clinker substitution and alternative fuels to carbon capture and innovative product development—the sector could reduce emissions by 400 to 500 million metric tonnes by 2030.
Collaborations between key stakeholders and industry-wide awareness initiatives (such as Earth Day) are already fostering momentum. The responsibility now lies with producers, regulators and technology providers to fast-track innovation and investment.
The time to act is now. A sustainable cement industry is not only possible—it is imperative.
Concrete
It is equally important to build resilient building structures
Published
3 weeks agoon
May 13, 2025By
admin
Manoj Rustagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW Cement, discusses how the adoption of ‘green’ practices in cement manufacturing could reshape the future of sustainable construction worldwide.
Cement is one of the most carbon-intensive materials in construction — but innovation is changing that. As sustainability becomes central to infrastructure, green cement is emerging as a viable low-carbon alternative. In this detailed interview with Manoj Rustagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW Cement, we explore what makes cement ‘green’, its performance, and its future. From durability to cutting-edge technologies, here’s a look at the cement industry’s greener path forward.
What exactly is green cement, and how does it differ from traditional cement?
At this point in time, there is no standard for defining green cement. A very simple way to understand ‘Green Cement’ or ‘Low Carbon Cement’ is the one which emits much lower greenhouse gasses (GHG) compared to conventional cement (Ordinary Portland Cement – OPC) during its manufacturing process.
In India, there are many existing BIS Standards for different types of cement products. The most common are OPC; Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC); Portland Slag Cement (PSC) and Composite Cement (CC). While OPC emits maximum GHG during its manufacturing (approx 800-850 kg CO2/MT of OPC), PSC emits least GHG (approx 300-350 kg CO2/MT of PSC). As PSC is having close to 60 per cent lower CO2 emission compared to OPC, it is the greenest cement available in the Indian market.
There is already work happening at the central government level to define green cement, like it has been recently done for green steel, and hopefully in the next one year or so the standard definition would be available.
What are the key environmental benefits of using green cement?
The primary environmental benefits of green or low-carbon cement are:
- Reduced CO2 emissions
- Lower energy and power consumption
- Conservation of limestone and fossil fuels
- Utilisation of industrial by-products
- (slag/fly ash)
Can green cement match the durability and strength of conventional cement?
PSC is much more durable than any other type of cement product. It has lower heat of hydration; the strength keeps on improving with time; and it has much higher resistance to chloride and sulphate attacks. Most of the concrete failures are because of chloride and sulphate attacks, which corrode the steel reinforcements and that is how cracks get initiated and propagated resulting in eventual concrete failures. For coastal applications, marine structures, seaports, and mass concreting, PSC is most suitable. Due to the intrinsic durability characteristics of PSC; it is a green and resilient cement product.
Usually everyone talks about lower GHG emissions, but it is equally important to build resilient building structures that can withstand natural calamities and have much longer lifespans. PSC is one cement type that is not only lowest in CO2 emissions but at the same time offers durability characteristics and properties (RCPT, RCMT, Mercury Intrusion, long term strength and flexural strength), which are unmatched.
What innovative technologies are being used to produce green cement?
To further reduce the CO2 emissions in the manufacturing process; some of the innovative technologies which are commercially viable are:
- Alternative raw materials: Use of steel slag, red mud and other industrial by-products to substitute limestone
- Alternative fuels: Use of RDF/MSW, pharmaceutical wastes like biomass etc., to substitute coal/pet-coke
- Waste Heat Recovery (WHR): Power plants to generate electricity from waste heat
- Renewable energy: Solar and wind energy instead of state grid
How cost-effective is green cement compared to traditional options?
All of the above innovative technologies do not increase the cost of manufacturing. There are some future technologies like Carbon Capture, Utilisation and/or Storage (CCUS), which are not commercially viable and would increase the cost of cement. As such, the options available today for low-carbon cement (like PSC) are not expensive.
The Government of India has recently notified Indian Carbon Market (ICM), which also includes the cement sector. Hopefully, this would help progressive companies to further reduce their carbon footprint.
What challenges does the industry face in adopting green cement on a large scale?
There is absolutely no incentive/motivation for builders/contractors to use green cement products and therefore there is practically no demand. While the industry has taken many steps. In fact the Indian cement industry is believed to be most energy efficient globally and has approximately 10 per cent lower GHG emissions compared to global average. But due to lack of awareness and lack of performance based standards; the demand for low carbon cement or green cement has not picked up in India.
Are governments and regulators supporting the shift to green cement?
In India, in the last couple of years, there have been many policy interventions which have been initiated. One of them, namely the carbon market is under notification; others like Green Public Procurement, Green Cement taxonomy and National CCUS Mission are in the advanced stages and are expected to be implemented in the next couple
of years.
How do you see the future of green cement in global construction?
Globally the built environment accounts for 40 per cent CO2 emissions; and the maximum embodied emissions come from cement and concrete. There is a lot of innovation happening in cement, concrete and construction. Basically, how we build and what material we use. And this is to do with both carbon mitigation as well as adaptation as the built environment is so important for sustainable living. Precast and pre-engineered buildings/structures, 3D concrete printing, ultra high performance concrete, digital and AI/ML interventions in construction, admixtures/improved concrete packing; and circularity in cement manufacturing are some examples. Low-carbon cement or green cement eventually will lead to ‘Net Zero CO2 emission’ cement, which would enable a ‘Net-Zero’ built environment that is needed for long term sustainability.

Milind Khangan, Marketing Manager, Vertex Market Research, looks at how India’s cement industry is powering a climate-conscious transformation with green cement at its core, aligning environmental urgency with economic opportunity.
The cement industry produces around eight per cent of the world’s total CO2 emissions. Process emissions, largely due to limestone calcination, contribute 50 to 60 per cent of these emissions and produce nearly one ton of CO2 per ton of cement produced.
India is a leading cement producer with an installed capacity of around 550 million tons (MMT) as of 2024. As the Government of India advances toward its 2070 net-zero target, green cement is becoming a major driver of this shift toward a low-carbon economy. It offers environmental sustainability as well as long-term operating efficiencies at scale. With the fast-paced urbanisation and infrastructure development across the nation, the use of green cement goes beyond environmental imperatives; it is also a strong strategic business opportunity. Indian cement players are some of the most sustainable and environmentally conscious players in the world, and indigenous cement demand in India is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10 per cent until 2030.
Innovating sustainably
Green cement is an umbrella term that includes multiple advanced technologies and processes aimed at minimising the environmental footprint, and CO2 emissions of conventional cement manufacturing. This shift from traditional practices targets minimising the carbon footprint throughout the whole cement manufacturing process.
- Clinker substitution: Substitution of high-carbon clinker with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in order to considerably lower emissions.
- Alternative binders: Developing cementitious systems that require minimal or no clinker, reducing reliance on traditional methods.
- Novel cements: Introducing new types of cement that depend less on limestone/clinker, utilising alternative modified processes and raw materials.
- Energy efficiency and alternative fuels: Optimising energy utilisation in production and substituting fossil fuel with cleaner alternatives coming from waste or biomass.
- Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS): Trapping CO2 emissions at cement plants for recycling or geological storage.
Drivers and strategic opportunities
Robust infrastructure development pipeline: The government’s continued and massive investment in infrastructure (roads, railways, housing, smart cities) generates huge demand for cement. Crucially, there is a growing preference and sometimes direct requirement under public tenders for sustainable building materials, including green cement, which is giving a significant market stimulus.
India’s national climate commitments (NDC and Net Zero 2070): India’s commitments under the Paris Agreement (NDCs) and the long-term goal of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2070 have set a clear direction for industrial decarbonisation. This national strategy necessitates action from high-emitting sectors such as cement to adopt green cement technologies and carbon-reducing innovations across the construction value chain. Notably, the Indian cement industry alone is expected to generate nearly 400 million tonnes of GHG emissions by 2030.
Regulatory mandates for fly ash utilisation: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released a number of binding notifications that promote the use of fly ash from thermal power plants. These guidelines seek to reduce environmental impact by enhancing its extensive application in cement production, particularly in Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC). Fly ash acts as a pozzolanic material, reacting with calcium hydroxide to produce cementitious compounds, hence decreasing clinker consumption, a high-energy component contributing to high CO2 emissions. Through clinker substitution facilitation, such mandates directly enable the production of low-carbon green cement.
Promotion and utilisation of blast furnace slag: Steel plant slag utilisation policies provide a ready SCM for manufacturing Portland Slag Cement (PSC). This is advantageous in terms of the supply of another key raw material for green cement manufacturing.
Increased demand due to green building movement
The larger adoption of green building codes and certification systems such as GRIHA and LEED India by builders and developers promotes the use of materials with reduced carbon content. Cement products with a higher SCM content or produced through cleaner processes are preferred. A step in this direction was achieved in October 2021 when Dalmia Cement achieved the distinction of being the first Indian cement producer to be granted the Green Product Accreditation of GRIHA.
The Indian industry is actively investing in R&D for new binders such as geopolymer cement, alkali-activated materials and limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). Research institutions including IIT Madras are collaborating with industry to scale these technologies. Although Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) is still at a nascent stage in India, it represents a potential frontier for long-term decarbonisation in the cement sector.
The MoEFCC has published draft regulations under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023, in the form of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity Target Rules, 2025. The draft notification requires 186 cement units in India to lower their GHG emission intensity from FY 2025-26. Non-compliant manufacturers will have to purchase carbon credit certificates or face penalties, creating a clear regulatory and financial incentive to adopt cleaner technology. The CCTS will promote technology and practice adoption that reduces the carbon intensity of cement manufacturing, potentially resulting in the use of green cement and other low-carbon substitutes for cement.
India’s leading cement companies like UltraTech, Shree Cement, and Dalmia Bharat have made science-based targets and net-zero emissions pledges in line with the GCCA 2050 Cement and Concrete Industry Roadmap. These self-declarations are hastening the shift towards clean cement manufacturing technology and renewable energy procurement.
Challenges and complexities in India’s green cement transition
Economic viability and cost challenges: High production costs associated with low-carbon cement technologies remain a significant hurdle. The absence of strict carbon pricing and poor financial incentives slow down rapid uptake on a large scale. Although green cement is currently costlier than conventional options, greater market adoption and scale-driven efficiencies are expected to progressively narrow this price gap, enhancing commercial viability over time. As these technologies mature, their broader deployment will become more feasible.
Inconsistent supply chain of SCMs: A dependable supply of high-quality Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs), such as fly ash and slag, is crucial. But in the course of decarbonisation of India’s power generation and industry sectors, SCMs reliability and availability may become intermittent. Strong, decentralised logistics and material processing units must be developed in order to provide uninterrupted and economical SCM supply chains to cement producers.
Gaps in technical standards and performance benchmarks
Although PPC and PSC are well-supported by existing BIS codes, standards for newer materials such as calcined clay, geopolymer binders and other novel SCMs require timely development and updates. Maintaining steady performance, lasting robustness, and usage dependability in varying climatic and structural applications will be key to instilling market faith in other forms of cement formulation. Market stakeholders are also supporting separate BIS codes for the green cement sub-categories for helping to build and sustain standardisation and trust.
Scaling of emerging technologies
Scaling promising technology, especially CCUS, from pilots to commercial scales within the Indian context involves significant investment of capital, technical manpower, and a facilitating regulatory environment. The creation of infrastructure for transportation and long-term storage of CO2 will be critical. While these facilitative systems are implemented, cement makers will be well-placed to decarbonise their operations and achieve national sustainability goals.
The way ahead
The Indian cement industry is poised to enter a revolutionary era, where decarbonisation and sustainability are at the heart of expansion. Industry players and the government need to join hands in an integrated manner throughout the cement value chain to spearhead this green revolution. Cement companies must embrace new technologies to lower the emissions like the utilisation of alternative fuels like biomass, industrial wastes, and recycled materials and utilisation of waste heat recovery systems to make energy efficient. The electrification of logistics and kilns, investigation of high-heat alternative products, and CCUS technology investments must be made to decarbonise production. Sophisticated additives such as polymers can improve cement performance with reduced environmental footprint.
At the policy level, the government has to introduce support measures such as stable carbon pricing, tax relief, viability gap funding, and initiatives such as the PLI scheme to encourage the use of renewable energy in cement manufacturing. Instruments such as carbon contracts can stabilise carbon credit prices and reduce market risk, encouraging investment in low-carbon technologies. Updating BIS standards for newer green cement formulations and SCMs is also critical for market acceptance and confidence. Green cement mandates in public procurement and long-term offtake contracts have the potential to generate stable demand, and green financing windows can guarantee commercial viability of near-zero carbon technologies. Cement greening is not a choice, it is a necessity for constructing a climate-resilient, sustainable India.
About the author:
Milind Khangan, Marketing Manager, Vertex Market Research, comes with more than five years of experience in market research and lead generation. He is responsible for developing new marketing plans and innovations in lead generation, having expertise in creating a technically strong website that generates leads for startups in market research.

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