Bamburi Cement Unveils Its Climate Action Progress

Bamburi Cement Plc has today launched its 2022 Sustainability Report that details its green growth trajectory geared towards decarbonizing its business operations to achieve net-zero carbon (CO2) emissions by 2050. In 2022, the company lowered its carbon emissions by 3.2% and achieved a 5.5% increase in the use of alternative fuels in its operations.

The 2022 Sustainability Report, themed Decarbonizing Our Operations, highlights the company’s financial and non-financial performance overview and activities towards Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) impacts in its fiscal year January to December 2022.

Speaking during the launch of the report, Bamburi Cement Group Managing Director Mr. Mohit Kapoor attributed the reduction in the Scope 1 carbon emissions to ongoing key initiatives, which include the use of alternative fuels in place of fossil fuels, alternative raw materials to substitute clinker, the use of renewable energy as well as optimization of the cement manufacturing process.

“Climate action is at the core of Holcim’s strategy for 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth. Our aggressive action in climate action is geared towards tackling emissions throughout our operations. In cement manufacturing the biggest emissions come from the cement production process, particularly the calcination and burning of fossil fuels,” Mr. Kapoor elaborated.

The report expounds on the progress made so far along Bamburi’s five core sustainability pillars, which include Climate and Energy, Circular Economy, People and Human Rights, Nature, Sustainable Procurement, Customer, Product, and Innovation and Governance.

To promote green operations, Bamburi Cement also focused on green mobility, protecting and preserving natural resources, enhancing the circular economy, as well as adopting smart construction technology like 3D printing, which reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80% compared to other conventional construction methods.

During the reporting period, Bamburi Cement eco-labeled four of its cement brands with a lower carbon footprint of between 30% to 90% compared to the pure Ordinary Portland Cements. The green cement includes Bamburi Fundi (-54%), Bamburi Tembo (-41%), Bamburi Nguvu (-41%) and Bamburi Duracem (-64%). In addition, the ratio of clinker used in cement production also reduced to 53.3% from 54% in 2021 mainly attributed to increased production of Fundi and Minecem, which make up part of the green cement portfolio.

“Bamburi Cement continues to be an industry leader in sustainability and innovation displayed through our efforts to provide the widest range of green products to our customers. We are cognizant of our responsibility to accelerate climate action and initiatives to achieve net zero by 2050,” Bamburi Cement Sustainability and Geocycle Director Ms. Jane Wangari noted.

Under its circular economy pillar, Bamburi’s waste management arm, Geocycle, successfully co-processed at least 75,000 tons of waste in cement production processes last year, bringing to a total of 745,000 tons of waste recycled in the last three years. Geocycle mainly offers waste management solutions to external partners enabling them to dispose of waste at Bamburi Cement plants for co-processing.

Under its nature and water pillar, Bamburi Cement has rehabilitated over 360 hectares of quarries into productive ecosystems with sustainable land use activities in the iconic Haller Park and Forest Trails through the Lafarge Ecosystems.

Bamburi Cement Plc Chairman Dr. John Simba said, “Sustainability holds great urgency and significance due to the increasing need to protect our environment and livelihood. We assure our stakeholders that we will continue to implement more aggressive measures in pursuit of climate change mitigation.”

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