Page 37 - 2020 Sustainability Report

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Cement producers have limited ability to abate or reduce process emissions resulting from calcination due to the
fundamental chemical composition of the limestone. While carbon capture and storage technologies may one day be
sufficiently developed to offer new, practical means of addressing the CO emitted from limestone, at this time the
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technologies are still in early stage development and testing. For the moment plants must focus on opportunities to use
lower-carbon fuel sources and improving energy efficiency in the manufacturing process.

Our Investments in Reducing our Carbon Intensity

We have worked hard and invested heavily in our greater detail below in “Understanding Blending and the
sustainability practices and improved carbon intensity Impact of Fuel Choice”. As a result of these efforts, we
in our cement manufacturing operations, including have successfully reduced the carbon intensity of our
employing and improving on patented production cement business to 0.75 net metric tonnes of CO e/
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processes, upgrading equipment, improving fuel efficiency metric tonnes of cement as of 2020 over the 2010
and increasing our use of lower-carbon alternative fuels, intensity of 0.836. This also places us well below the U.S.
and reducing total air emissions. In fact, since 2008, we cement industry average intensity of 0.79 metric tonnes of
have invested more than $1 billion to upgrade kilns and CO e/metric tonnes of cement in 2019 (the most recent
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equipment at both cement plants, including replacing year for which data is available from the USEPA) and
“wet process” cement production with modern makes us one of the more carbon efficient cement
pre-calciner technology and installing state-of-the-art producers in the United States. 2020 saw a slight uptick in
emissions control equipment at our Midlothian Cement our intensity due to EPA rules which required us to include
Plant. We believe our two cement plants are now the biogenic GHG previously excluded from our
among the most modern in the United States. calculations for the year.

While our carbon intensity is reported in terms of CO e
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emissions net of emissions from biogenic sources, it is “As a result of these efforts, we
notable that our net and gross emissions from our
operations do not materially differ. This is due to the fact have successfully reduced the
that the use of alternative fuels is significantly less carbon intensity of our cement
incentivized in the U.S. (where we operate) than in the
European Union, including that biogenic sources are only business to 0.75 net metric tonnes
partially credited in calculating emissions required to be of CO e/metric tonnes of cement
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reported to the USEPA. In addition, we report our carbon as of 2020 over the 2010 intensity
intensity in terms of metric tonnes of “cement” we
produce (which is comprised of clinker and certain blend of 0.836.”
materials) rather than “cementitious material” typically
used by EU cement companies. Although our cement
includes some blending with non-clinker materials, like
Not surprisingly, in 2015, the Company’s Midlothian
other U.S. operators, we are not permitted to substitute
Cement Plant was recognized by the USEPA as a high
clinker at the higher percentages permitted in the EU.
performing, energy efficient facility following investments
Therefore, we use the term “cement” to differentiate the
in innovative air pollution control technologies and usage
products. The above considerations are discussed in
of alternative fuels.

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