Currently, the demand for infrastructure is expected to continue rising based on the population growth and the continuous shift of populations to urban areas. Projections indicate that the global urbanization rate will reach 68% by 2050, when two out of three people will live in cities or other urban centers. To meet this demand for housing, the value of global construction is expected to increase by $4.2 trillion over the next 15 years.
All this activity means that demand for cement and concrete, essential for construction, is set to grow. This could exacerbate the cement and concrete sector’s contribution to drivers of nature loss, such as the use of freshwater and other resources, land-use change and ecosystem disruption due to extraction activities and greenhouse gas emissions.
Companies that anticipate risks related to nature loss will be able to prepare for future new policy and regulatory requirements, minimizing disruption from physical, transition and systemic risks related to nature. By taking early action, companies can increase their resilience and benefit from the opportunities to transition to a “nature-positive” world by 2030 – the central mission of the UN Biodiversity Plan to halt and reverse nature loss.
Companies should start by recognizing the value of nature to their business; assessing and measuring how they impact and depend on nature; setting transparent, time-bound and science-based targets; taking steps to transform their operations and value chains; and publicly disclosing results and other nature-related data.
The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, has developed a new guide – Nature Positive: The Role of the Cement and Concrete Sector – which sets out in detail five priority actions that corporate leaders should take to transform and innovate their business practices and contribute to a nature-positive economy:
1. Improve water management throughout the value chain.
2. Adopt technologies and manufacturing practices that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
3. Continue and strengthen reclamation and rehabilitation approaches, as well as quarry biodiversity management, and improve land management on all occupied lands.
4. Expand circularity efforts across the value chain.
5. Innovate to deliver products that support the transition to a nature-positive economy.
The guide reveals that undertaking these priority actions could unlock $44 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030 across the entire value chain of the sector.
In some places around the world, cement and concrete companies already operate under strict regulatory frameworks and some have made voluntary commitments to nature.
Holcim, for example, launched its new strategy in which it commits to contribute to a nature-positive future through quantifiable water and biodiversity targets. It pledged to reduce freshwater withdrawal by 33% per ton of cement produced and determined that 75% of its plants located in water-risk areas will be water-positive by 2030.
Heidelberg Materials has committed to dedicating 15% space to nature at all active quarries to align with nature-positive targets. Cemex has set a goal of increasing the amount of waste and by-products captured for use as alternative fuels and raw materials by 50% by 2030, with 95% of waste reused, recycled, or recovered.
These efforts are also supported by industry associations, such as the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), which represents 80% of the global cement industry by volume outside of China and has developed a specific policy on biodiversity and water.
As part of the value-chain for the industry at Seal Plus by Motofrenos we are committed to support our clients with our seal solution for rotary kilns and with our consulting services. We are aware that all businesses, policymakers, financial institutions, civil society, and philanthropists now need to work together to transform the cement and concrete industries.
Source: https://es.weforum.org/
