Page 63 - 2023 Sustainability Report

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Our Investments in Reducing our Carbon Intensity

While awaiting further development of carbon capture companies. Although our cement includes some blending
technology, we have worked hard and invested heavily in with non-clinker materials, like other U.S. operators, we
our sustainability practices and improved carbon intensity are not permitted to substitute clinker at the higher
in our heritage cement manufacturing operations, percentages permitted in the EU. Therefore, we use the
including employing and improving on patented term “cement” to differentiate the products. The above
production processes, upgrading equipment, improving considerations are discussed in greater detail below in
fuel efficiency and increasing our use of lower-carbon “Understanding Blending and the Impact of Fuel Choice”.
alternative fuels, reducing total air emissions, and
convincing customers to switch to lower GHG-intensive “As a result of these efforts, we
Portland Limestone Cement or PLC. In fact, since 2008, we
have invested more than $1 billion to upgrade kilns and have successfully reduced the
equipment at both Texas cement plants, including
carbon intensity of our cement
replacing “wet process” cement production with modern
business to 0.619 net metric
pre-calciner technology and installing state-of-the-art
emissions control equipment at our Midlothian Cement tonnes of CO e/metric tonnes of
2
Plant. We believe these two cement plants are now
cement as of 2023 from the 2010
among the most modern in the United States.
intensity of 0.836.”
Not surprisingly, in 2015, the Company’s Midlothian
Cement Plant was recognized by the USEPA as a high
performing, energy efficient facility following investments
While our carbon intensity is reported in terms of CO e
2
in innovative air pollution control technologies and usage
emissions including emissions from biogenic sources, our
of alternative fuels.
emissions from our operations if we excluded 24% of the
biogenic component (the potential average % proposed by
Understanding Carbon Intensity USEPA) would be 0.599, a modest 3.2% decrease. This is
Calculations due to the fact that the use of alternative fuels is
significantly less incentivized in the U.S. (where we
As a result of these efforts, we successfully reduced
operate) than in the European Union, including that
the carbon intensity of our cement business to 0.619
biogenic sources are only partially credited in calculating
net metric tonnes of CO e/metric tonnes of cement as emissions required to be reported to the USEPA.
2
of 2023 from the 2010 intensity of 0.836. This also
places us below the 2022 (the most recent year for which
data is available from the USEPA) U.S. cement industry “This also places us below the 2022
average intensity of 0.73 metric tonnes of CO e/metric (the most recent year for which data
2
tonnes of cement (inclusive of biogenic GHG) and makes
us one of the more carbon efficient cement producers in is available from the USEPA) U.S.
the United States. 2023 saw a 14.6% decrease in our cement industry average intensity
intensity and a 10.8% reduction in Scope 1 GHG
of 0.73 metric tonnes of CO e/metric
emissions, due to changes in our fuel mix, various 2
efficiency projects and the conversion to Portland tonnes of domestic cement and
Limestone Cement production.
makes us one of the more carbon
We report our cement business’ carbon intensity in terms
efficient cement producers in the
of metric tonnes of “cement” we produce (which is
comprised of clinker and certain blend materials) rather United States.”
than “cementitious material” typically used by EU cement

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