The 7th Indian Cement Review Conference was held on 17th December, 2021, at The Lalit, New Delhi, in the presence of representatives of the cement industry.

The Conference revolved around the theme of ‘Decarbonsing the Cement Industry’ with panel discussions focussed on bringing the best trends in sustainability. The Conference started with an inaugural address by Mr Pratap Padode, Founder and President of the FIRST Construction Council. He highlighted alarming statistics about carbon emissions by the cement industry world, and underscored the fact that for climate change, cement needs to decarbonise. He encouraged the attendees to ask relevant questions of the experts and discuss decarbonisation amongst themselves to understand viable solutions for the challenges ahead.

Mr Satish Pandey gave a keynote address on the Current Best Practices and Plants of Tomorrow – Transform India. This was followed by the panel discussion on Paving Way Towards Energy and Sustainability, which was moderated by Mr Vaibhav Agarwal, Research Analyst and Vice President, Institutional Equity Research, PhillipCapital. The panelists included Mr Bibekananda Mohapatra, Director General, NCCBM; Mr Shrinath Savoor, Jt President (Strategy and Business Development), Shree Cement; Dr Sujit Ghosh, Executive Director, Dalmia Cement; Mr Madhusudhan, R Country Head, IKN Engineering; and Mr Subhasis Chattopadhyay, Head – Projects, Birla Corporation.

The key highlights of this discussion included use of supplementary raw materials like fly ash, and bio fuels like biomass and agricultural waste, importance of technology in carbon capture and need to upgrade existing cement plants. The panelists also discussed the importance of climate finance and wider acceptance of blended cement, especially in government-backed projects.

The fireside chat at the conference focussed on environment vs economic growth. It was moderated by Mr Sachin Joshi, Sustainability Consultant, and Head, UNIDO FIC-SID. The panelists for this session were Mr Mahendra Singhi, MD and CEO, Dalmia Cement Bharat; and Mr Rajnish Kapur, COO, JK Cement. This session focussed on the key measures to support the economy and reduce environmental pressure as well as innovations and best practices. Both the experts highlighted the fact that planetary boundaries are changing. Mr Singhi pointed out that India is the only country with online monitoring of carbon emissions.

The experts also stressed on the importance of vision and strategy for an inclusive growth for all stakeholders. This would make everyone think ‘what more can I do’. Economics and sustainability need to be aligned. Clean and green is profitable and sustainable and cement companies need to lead by example.

The second panel discussion for the day started right after the lunch break and covered associated topics of clean-energy future; the role of tech and AI in optimising energy consumption by improving equipment productivity; environmental concerns and carbon costs; sustainable cement packaging; and MSW as a fuel for kiln.

The panel was moderated by Mr Sanchit Makhija, Principal, AT Kearney. The panelists included Mr Manoj Rustogi, Head – Sustainability, JSW Cement; Mr Jeevaraj Pillai, Joint President (Packaging), UFlex; Mr Saurabh Palsania, Executive Director, Dalmia Cement; Mr SK Rathore, President, JK Cement; and Mr Jeyamurugan Kandasamy, Head of Connected Assets Global, Group Digital-Smart Products, FLSmidth.

In his valedictory speech, Mr Sumit Banerjee, Chairman – Editorial Advisory Board, Indian Cement Review, called climate change “a complex and ‘wicked’ problem.” He pointed out, “It is important to understand if cement production is sustainable. Carbon sequestration, synthesising cement, and use of hydrogen as fuel in a kiln are the three possibilities, which exist today that can provide some hope in decarbonsing cement. But these attempts are not serious because the cement industry’s participation in these endeavours is lukewarm. “

Appreciating India’s contribution to decarbonising cement, Mr Mahendra Singhi, MD and CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat), said, “The planetary boundaries of decarbonisation are changing. India is the only country with online monitoring of carbon emissions.”

The 7th Indian Cement Review Conference ended on an optimistic note as representatives of cement companies present, expressed their commitment towards decarbonising cement and the concrete steps required to make this possible.