Cemex UK has recently announced that it has published Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for products at its Rugby and Tilbury cement plants. The EPDs for cement delivered in bulk tankers have been gained, covering more than 80% of manufactured cements.
Paul Fletcher, Head of Sustainability for Cemex Europe, comments that, “Achieving third-party verification through the International EPD System provides independent and transparent information of our cement’s environmental performance over the entire lifecycle of the product.
“The EPD factors in all raw materials, energy inputs and water usage throughout the manufacturing process and therefore provides us with a holistic validation of our products to support our net zero ambitions”.
Its CEM II/A-L 52,5N (Cemstone) is a factory-produced Portland composite cement with the addition of limestone, containing around 80% clinker. It provides benefits in a wide range of concrete, mortar, render, screed, and grout applications and is suitable for use as an alternative to Portland cement in most types of concrete.
Its CEM I 52,5N cement is a traditional Portland cement containing 95%—100% clinker. However, due to its lower carbon intensity, Cemstone is now being replaced by Portland cement across most customer segments.
Both types of cement can be used to produce precast and prestressed concrete elements and can be used in ready mixed concrete. Recent changes to BS8500, the complimentary British Standard to the European concrete standard EN206, now allow Cemstone to be used in combination with other additions to produce concrete suitable across a wide range of Exposure Classes and therefore specifiers and concrete producers can select and produce even lower carbon concretes that supports the industries drive to Net Zero by 2050.
Craig Williamson, Cement Commercial Director for the UK, “This is another important step on our journey to produce more sustainable cement products for our customers and provide them with the confidence they need to ensure that they can meet their own sustainable building and construction ambitions.”
The CEM II A-L variety (Cemstone) is part of Cemex’s Vertua product portfolio, which includes building materials with attributes that demonstrate either a lower carbon footprint, the use of recycled materials, improved thermal efficiency, increased water conservation, or design optimization.
The Vertua range produced by Cemex includes its CEM II A-L varieties of cement, readymix concrete and also extends to products including sprayed concrete, dry-silo and bagged mortar, and asphalt.
Designing more sustainable products and solutions is a key pillar of Cemex’s global Future in Action programme alongside decarbonising its operations, promoting a circular economy and enhancing biodiversity – with the ultimate goal of becoming a net zero business by 2050.
This news follows the announcement made by Cemex at the end of 2023, that it had achieved EPDs for products produced in Croatia and Spain and was continuing to pursue EPDs for its products across its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia) operations, which it has now achieved in both the UK and Poland.
