Environment
We adhere to Govt CSR guidelines keeping in sight MDGs and SDGs
Published
5 years agoon
By
admin
– Jamshed Naval Cooper, Managing Director, Heidelberg Cement India
What are the activities you are involved under CSR commitment and how the government mandate is prescribing various benchmarks?
Having obligated itself to build on the three pillars of ecology, economy and social responsibility, HeidelbergCement Group has been fulfilling its CSR obligations across the globe. In India, we have identified five areas to which we devote our CSR contributions.
Education: HC India recognises the need, spelt out under RTE and contributes towards providing quality education to students who are unable to afford the same. We have been involved in improving the infrastructure of schools in rural areas and offering scholarships to meritorious students at Anganwadi centres.
Health: We organise for the communities dwelling around our plants, mobile health checkup camps, multi-speciality health camps and provide support to government hospitals and health centres by way of enhancing their facilities.
Livelihood: HC India has been in the forefront when it comes to improving means of livelihood of the society around its plant locations. The Company has set up "Sakshamta Vikas Kendras" with a mission to enhance the skills of the rural folk and to empower them earn a respectable livelihood. Training is provided to farmers both in terms of improved farming techniques and livestock development.
Infrastructure: In our own small way, we have over the years invested efforts into improving the rural roads by concreting them. Built community halls, parks and other facilities based on the felt needs of the communities living in close vicinity of our plants.
Social engagement: We recognise the importance of sports and cultural activities that drive the local communities and support them organise sport tournaments both for the physically-abled and for the challenged people. To build confidence of the especially abled section of the citizens, we provide support to the schools meant for them.
We respectfully honour every mandate of the government and adhere to the CSR guidelines keeping in sight the millennium development goals (MDG) and sustainable development goal (SDG).
How are the actual and prescribed budgets for the last three years? How long it will take for you to complete the mission you have undertaken in that particular region?
The mission to develop the communities around our manufacturing establishments is an endless journey. Enough is not enough to satiate the needs of a society that craves even for small bites of happiness. When it comes to our spends on CSR, as per the act, we are obliged to spend minimum 2 per cent of our average net profits of last three years, which for FY2020 translated close to 69.7MINR for our Group’s operations in India against which we spent 72.2 MINR.
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?
The impact of various CSR initiatives led by us has been very heartening. Not only have we succeeded in putting smiles on the faces of the people, the feeling of satisfaction and worthiness, our employees get out of every project gives us a sense of great achievement. The sense of belongingness, harmony and togetherness our projects have brought about among the communities is what propels us to keep doing more and more for them.
We have undertaken several projects to provide clean and safe drinking water, deepening of ponds, building check dams, etc. Our interventions have improved the chances of employment for the youth and we have seen better farm and livestock productivity. Education of the girl child is gradually improving women empowerment and the health care services provided by us are contributing to build a healthier society. By improving the literacy levels of the community, we are making the rural folk capable enough to avail the opportunities that await them away from home.
The planning of CSR programmes is done in close consultation with various stakeholders like village institutions, gram panchayats, schools, Aaganwadis and local administration. These thereafter are made out as Projects and detailed from start to finish with clearly defined benefits for the target stakeholders. These projects are assigned specific timelines for completion and handed over to the community. In some projects when we feel the necessity of experts, we involve requisite agencies in the interest of optimising its overall potential. We assign due weightages to the project based on the parameters like who will benefit most, what will be its impact on society both in the short and medium term and finally its contribution in building a united resilient India.
Can you give us the best case study that has yielded highest/ best results?
Project Title: Transformation of rural education institutions With a view to encourage rural children to take education, we embarked on a mission to improve the infrastructure of the Govt. educational institutions operating around our manufacturing unit in Damoh district. Right from refurbishing the school building, to providing laboratories, school furniture, boundary walls for safety and bright classrooms. This would attract the children making them come to school willingly and happily, including the teaching staff who in a conducive environment would feel responsible and obliged to impart quality education to the excited students.
Agenda:
- To improve the basic facilities for students and teachers at the village educational Institutions.
- To develop pre-school education culture in government aaganwadi centres.
- To make the schools and aaganwadis lively and capable of attracting students towards education.
- Increase attendance and school enrolment in government schools.
Project stakeholders:
District Education Department, District Women & Child development Department, government schools, government Aaganwadi centres, Gram Panchayat are the major stakeholders of the project.
Project inputs:
- Infrastructure improvement – construction of boundary wall for safety of students, renovation of rooms, flooring and attractive informative classrooms
- Pre-school education materials – dress, shoes, socks, books and stationery
- Health and hygiene – washrooms, playgrounds, sports materials
- School furniture – almirah, office tables, chairs, fans, boards, etc.
- Solar panel – for self-sustained electricity generation and use
Impact of project:
- Acceptability of rural educational institutions has improved significantly
- Involvement of community and all stakeholders has increased
- 25 per cent increase in attendance of enrolled students
- 80 per cent children regularly attending pre-school education at Aaganwadi centres
- 35 per cent increase of enrolment in schools
- A model system in operation that is now available for replication
Beneficiaries of Project:
- 30 villages
- 45 government schools
- 20 model Aaganwadi centres
- Approximately 9500 students
- 146 teachers
- Approximately 3.250 children (pre-school education)
What are the crushing challenges our country is facing in the socio-economic sphere and how could CSR contribute towards mitigating the same?
Rural India’s lifeline is agriculture. If we can improve the productivity of the farmlands and the livestock and impart a reasonable amount of education, rural communities would develop and become as prosperous as the ones in urban spaces. Farming requires water which is unevenly distributed across regions and this turns out to be a challenge posed by mother nature for us to address at a national level.
Gainful and respectable employment is yet another challenge given the growing share of the young generation in our population. While automation will work contrary to the objectives of job creation, it will reap in benefits in terms of higher productivity making goods and services affordable. As the growing pace of technology will generate a new era of employment opportunities as a Nation, we would still have to address the aspirations of those who would not be fortunate enough to make it there and would require earning a living. Rural India will be a home for them and the farm sector their source of livelihood.
A lion’s share of the CSR contributions therefore needs to be allocated to the development of the communities that dwell in the hinterland of India. Water harvesting projects need to be taken up on top priority so that waste lands could be brought under cultivation. In most parts of the country, farmers harvest just one crop a year and a few two crops whereas the potential remains three crops a year. Water harvesting, drip irrigation and advanced farming techniques should be made available to the farmers at subsidised and affordable prices. To supplement the income of the farmers, livestock management needs to be promoted.
CSR activities directed on this front will add towards reinforcing the economy at a ground level. Ensuring availability of subsidised mineral enricheddiet for cattle will boost the productivity of the livestock resulting in better incomes that will encourage the farmers to invest into animal care and increasing their numbers. Skill development programmes especially for the women are a must do under the CSR initiatives. Women empowerment in the rural context needs greater reinforcement which in return would deliver a better generation of citizens.
What are the CSR activities you have undertaken post the outbreak of Covid-19 and what are the challenges you have faced so far?
The pandemic has caught everyone unaware. While the privileged took to hiding in their safety of their comfortable nest,it’s the underprivileged who have been left out in the open to fend for survival. Initially, we struggled to find solutions for our own people but soon we realised the plight of the communities around us and started educating them about the disease and prevention methods. We distributed masks and sanitisers at the same time carried out sanitisation drives for villages.
Our employees contributed their one day’s salary with an equal contribution from our organisation was given into PM Cares-Fund including contributions to State relief funds. Being part of the construction industry, our feet always remain on the ground as our teams visit construction sites where we interact with workers, masons and contractors the so-called real builders of our nation. During the lockdown period, we were unable to be with them, but the thought of their wellbeing kept haunting us.
No sooner the lockdown was called off, HeidelbergCement decided to contribute Re. 1 for every bag of cement sold by it. The proceeds of which would fuel its initiative "annam" under which food supplies would be provided to the under privileged section of the society. Our business associates have extended a helping hand by ensuring that the beneficiaries are the ones who are in real need of help.
How do you think the CSR scenario will pan out in general in the next two to three years, given the impact on business and profitability projections in the wake of Covid-19?
The lockdown in March 2020 struck a panic alarm making one and all run for cover. From then to now, we all have learnt to accept the reality at the ground level with greater degree of experiential learning to handle the situation which is here to stay for long. If at all there is a lesson this pandemic has taught us, it is – "our wellbeing is dependent on the wellbeing of the people surrounding us".
As businesses get impacted by the pandemic and economic activities slow down, corporate profits would shrink and so would the CSR budgets. Nevertheless, humanity would rise on the other side and the privileged would come forward to contribute and serve those who served them once, thereby reinstating the balance. Besides this, there still would be many organisations who would continue to fulfill their CSR obligations beyond what is required of them. It is they who would emerge champions of humanity and earn the goodwill and loyalty of their customers and society at large.
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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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