[Cement and Ready-Mix Concrete Crisis] 'Carbon Neutrality Act' Urgent Issue, Efficient Transformation in the Long Run

2019 Air Pollutant Emissions: 2nd Place After Power Generation Industry, Green New Deal Committee Launched
"Expecting Transformation into a Comprehensive Environmental Company by Replacing Bituminous Coal with Circular Resources"

Editor's NoteOn August 5th, the Presidential Committee on Carbon Neutrality announced the draft of the '2050 Carbon Neutrality Scenario.' The economy and industry sectors, which must urgently restructure their industrial frameworks, are now under intense pressure. The cement industry has been stigmatized as a major greenhouse gas emitter, while the ready-mixed concrete (Remicon) industry is caught in internal and external crises, including rising delivery and transportation costs and government refusal to increase registered vehicles. The cement and Remicon industries, along with the construction industry, form a single ecosystem known as the construction materials industry. This article examines the current challenges facing the cement and Remicon industries and explores paths for sustainable development and mutual growth within the construction materials sector.

Ssangyong C&E Donghae Plant Production Innovation Equipment.
[Photo by Ssangyong C&E]

[Feature] The Crisis in the Cement and Remicon Industries

① Cement Industry at a Crossroads with Carbon Neutrality... Crisis or Opportunity?

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The government passed the 'Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth for Climate Crisis Response (Carbon Neutrality Framework Act)' through the National Assembly on the 31st of last month, which mandates a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by more than 35% compared to 2018 levels by 2030. This has set off an urgent alarm for domestic industries that must accelerate industrial restructuring.

In particular, the cement industry, alongside steel and petrochemical sectors, is a major greenhouse gas emitter and feels the pressure acutely. According to the Environmental Data Platform report released this year by the Climate Change Center, the cement industry ranks second in domestic carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for 18% of total industrial sector emissions, providing grounds for political and civil society groups to pressure the cement sector.

In response, the cement industry launched the 'Cement Green New Deal Committee' in February, led by the Korea Cement Association and composed of 15 experts, identifying 34 tasks including early adoption of greenhouse gas capture and conversion technologies. In July, the industry set a concrete target to reduce emissions by 50% from 35.8 million tons in 2018 to 2050, demonstrating its commitment to cutting greenhouse gases.

Individual companies are also taking urgent action. According to semi-annual reports from cement companies, Ssangyong C&E, the industry leader, reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 8.5% from 10.89 million tons in 2019 to 9.97 million tons last year. During the same period, Sampyo Cement cut emissions by 15.5%, from 7.08 million tons to 5.98 million tons, Hanil Hyundai Cement by 14.6%, and Sungshin Cement by 6.8%.

Measures to reduce greenhouse gases are being introduced one after another. Sampyo Group, the parent company of Sampyo Cement, recently established a '2050 Carbon Zero Roadmap,' investing 200 billion KRW to reduce carbon emissions from cement manufacturing and transportation by 35% by 2030 and achieve 100% reduction by 2050.

Ssangyong C&E declared a 'coal phase-out management' policy earlier this year to reduce bituminous coal usage, cutting annual coal consumption from 1.5 million tons to 1 million tons last year and aiming for zero coal use by 2030. To this end, it plans to invest an additional 70 billion KRW over the next five years to expand recycling resource processing facilities and waste heat power generation equipment.

Hanil Cement and Hanil Hyundai Cement also plan to invest 270 billion KRW to build recycling resource facilities by 2025 to reduce carbon emissions by 30%. Asia Cement and Halla Cement aim to cut emissions by 25% by 2025 through investments in recycling resource facilities, and Sungshin Cement has announced eco-friendly investment plans to reduce carbon emissions.

The cement industry views the recycling of circular resources such as waste plastics, which replace bituminous coal, as highly effective in reducing greenhouse gases and cutting costs. Although currently facing a crisis, the industry sees this as an opportunity to transform into an eco-friendly sector in the long term.

Koen Coppenhol, President of the European Cement Association, emphasized in an interview with domestic media last year that "The European Union (EU) highly values the cement industry's role in addressing environmental issues," adding, "By using waste as an alternative fuel to bituminous coal, the cement industry not only reduces fossil fuel use but also curbs greenhouse gas emissions from waste incineration or landfill."

The cement industry believes that recycling circular resources such as waste plastics, replacing bituminous coal, is effective both in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering costs. The industry views this as both a crisis and an opportunity. The cement sector anticipates that "cement companies will play a major role as comprehensive environmental enterprises that solve landfill shortages and environmental pollution caused by increasing waste in the long term and promote resource recycling."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.