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Traceability is foundational to circularity

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Uttam Sur, Chief Sustainability and Security Officer, Valency International Pte, discusses cross-border collaboration and innovation essential to scaling sustainable solutions.

As the cement industry accelerates its transition toward low-carbon growth, global commodity trading and cross-border collaboration are emerging as powerful enablers of circular economy practices. Uttam Sur, Chief Sustainability and Security Officer, Valency International Pte, talks about how trading expertise, supply chain traceability, and innovative partnerships are reshaping the sector’s resource loop while aligning with ESG imperatives.

How can global commodity trading expertise support circular economy adoption in cement?
Global commodity trading brings deep market intelligence, logistical efficiency, and access to alternative raw materials. By leveraging trading networks, cement companies can source industrial by-products like fly ash, slag and alternative fuels, which are critical to circular practices. Traders also help navigate regulatory landscapes and ensure consistent quality and supply, enabling cement producers to integrate circular inputs without compromising performance.

What role can supply chain traceability play in enabling circular practices in the sector?
Traceability is foundational to circularity. It ensures that materials—whether recycled, reclaimed or sustainably sourced—meet environmental and social standards. Digital traceability tools allow cement companies to track the origin, lifecycle and carbon footprint of inputs, which supports compliance, transparency and ESG reporting. This also builds trust with stakeholders and enables data-driven decisions for sustainable sourcing.

How can cement companies collaborate with traders to source sustainable raw materials?
Collaboration begins with shared sustainability goals. Cement companies can work with traders to identify low-carbon alternatives, co-develop supplier standards and invest in pre-processing infrastructure. Long-term partnerships can unlock access to circular materials like biomass, construction waste and industrial residues, while also ensuring traceability and quality control across borders.

What lessons from ESG risk mitigation in commodities can be applied to cement operations?
Commodity sectors have advanced ESG risk frameworks that cement companies can adopt—such as supplier audits, grievance mechanisms and third-party certifications. These practices help identify risks related to labour, environment and governance early in the supply chain. Cement operations can benefit by embedding these controls into procurement, logistics and community engagement strategies.

How important is cross-border collaboration for scaling circular economy solutions in cement?
Extremely important. Circular inputs often originate from diverse geographies—industrial
by-products, waste-derived fuels and recycled aggregates are not always locally available. Cross-border collaboration enables access to thes ematerials, harmonises standards and fosters innovation. It also supports policy alignment and investment in shared infrastructure, which is vital for scaling circular solutions.

What are the biggest challenges in aligning cement’s circular initiatives with global ESG standards?
Key challenges include fragmented regulations, inconsistent data and limited supplier capacity. Many circular materials lack standardised ESG metrics, making it difficult to assess their impact. Additionally, aligning local practices with global frameworks like GRI, SASB or TCFD requires capacity building and digital transformation across the value chain.

How can stakeholder engagement across 20+ countries drive innovation in cement circularity?
Engaging stakeholders globally brings diverse perspectives, technologies and policy insights. It enables co-creation of solutions tailored to local contexts—whether it’s waste valorisation in Africa, carbon capture in Europe, or green logistics in Asia. Multi-country engagement also fosters knowledge exchange, accelerates pilot projects and builds resilient supply chains for circular materials.

Which emerging materials or technologies could reshape the resource loop in cement production?
Several innovative materials and technologies are poised to transform the resource loop in
cement manufacturing:
• Carbonated aggregates produced using captured CO2 offer a dual benefit—reducing emissions and enhancing material performance.
• Alkali-activated binders present a low-carbon alternative to traditional cement, utilising industrial by-products like fly ash and slag.
• AI-powered waste sorting systems enable efficient recovery and reuse of high-quality recycled inputs, minimising landfill dependency.
• Blockchain-based traceability platforms ensure transparency and accountability across circular supply chains.

Concrete

Molecor Renews OCS Europe Certification Across Spanish Plants

Certification reinforces commitment to preventing microplastic pollution

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Molecor has renewed its OCS Europe certification for another year across all its production facilities in Spain under the Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) voluntary initiative, reaffirming its commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. The renewal underlines the company’s continued focus on preventing the unintentional release of plastic particles during manufacturing, with particular attention to safeguarding marine ecosystems from microplastic pollution.

All Molecor plants in Spain have been compliant with OCS Europe standards for several years, implementing best practices designed to avoid pellet loss and the release of plastic particles during the production of PVC pipes and fittings. The OCS-based management system enables the company to maintain strict operational controls while aligning with evolving regulatory expectations on microplastic prevention.

The renewed certification also positions Molecor ahead of newly published European regulations. The company’s practices are aligned with Regulation (EU) 2025/2365, recently adopted by the European Parliament, which sets out requirements to prevent pellet loss and reduce microplastic pollution across industrial operations.

Extending its sustainability commitment beyond its own operations, Molecor is actively engaging its wider value chain by informing suppliers and customers of its participation in the OCS programme and encouraging responsible microplastic management practices. Through these efforts, the company contributes directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 14 ‘Life below water’, reinforcing its role as a responsible industrial manufacturer committed to environmental stewardship and long-term sustainability.

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Coforge Launches AI-Led Data Cosmos Analytics Platform

New cloud-native platform targets enterprise data modernisation and GenAI adoption

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Coforge Limited has recently announced the launch of Coforge Data Cosmos, an AI-enabled, cloud-native data engineering and advanced analytics platform aimed at helping enterprises convert fragmented data environments into intelligent, high-performance data ecosystems. The platform strengthens Coforge’s technology stack by introducing a foundational innovation layer that supports cloud-native, domain-specific solutions built on reusable blueprints, proprietary IP, accelerators, agentic components and industry-aligned capabilities.

Data Cosmos is designed to address persistent enterprise challenges such as data fragmentation, legacy modernisation, high operational costs, limited self-service analytics, lack of unified governance and the complexity of GenAI adoption. The platform is structured around five technology portfolios—Supernova, Nebula, Hypernova, Pulsar and Quasar—covering the full data transformation lifecycle, from legacy-to-cloud migration and governance to cloud-native data platforms, autonomous DataOps and scaled GenAI orchestration.

To accelerate speed-to-value, Coforge has introduced the Data Cosmos Toolkit, comprising over 55 IPs and accelerators and 38 AI agents powered by the Data Cosmos Engine. The platform also enables Galaxy solutions, which combine industry-specific data models with the core technology stack to deliver tailored solutions across sectors including BFS, insurance, travel, transportation and hospitality, healthcare, public sector and retail.

“With Data Cosmos, we are setting a new benchmark for how enterprises convert data complexity into competitive advantage,” said Deepak Manjarekar, Global Head – Data HBU, Coforge. “Our objective is to provide clients with a fast, adaptive and AI-ready data foundation from day one.”

Supported by a strong ecosystem of cloud and technology partners, Data Cosmos operates across multi-cloud and hybrid environments and is already being deployed in large-scale transformation programmes for global clients.

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India, Sweden Launch Seven Low-Carbon Steel, Cement Projects

Joint studies to cut industrial emissions under LeadIT

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India and Sweden have announced seven joint projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the steel and cement sectors, with funding support from India’s Department of Science and Technology and the Swedish Energy Agency.

The initiatives, launched under the LeadIT Industry Transition Partnership, bring together major Indian companies including Tata Steel, JK Cement, Ambuja Cements, Jindal Steel and Power, and Prism Johnson, alongside Swedish technology firms such as Cemvision, Kanthal and Swerim. Leading Indian academic institutions, including IIT Bombay, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIT Bhubaneswar and IIT Hyderabad, are also participating.

The projects will undertake pre-pilot feasibility studies on a range of low-carbon technologies. These include the use of hydrogen in steel rotary kilns, recycling steel slag for green cement production, and applying artificial intelligence to optimise concrete mix designs. Other studies will explore converting blast furnace carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide for reuse and assessing electric heating solutions for steelmaking.

India’s steel sector currently accounts for about 10–12 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions, while cement contributes nearly 6 per cent. Globally, heavy industry is responsible for roughly one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and consumes around one-third of total energy.

The collaboration aims to develop scalable, low-carbon industrial technologies that can support India’s net-zero emissions target by 2070. As part of the programme, Tata Steel and Cemvision will examine methods to convert steel slag into construction materials, creating a circular value chain for industrial byproducts.

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