Dalmia Cement commits to 100% renewable power

Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd is the first cement company to join RE100 - a global collaborative initiative of the world’s most influential companies committed to 100 percent renewable power, led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP. The flagship company of Indian conglomerate Dalmia Bharat Group, Dalmia Cement is the third Indian business to join the RE100 initiative in after Infosys and Tata Motors.

The company’s new long-term commitment to transition to 100 percent renewable electricity comes on Energy Day at COP22 in Marrakech (Morocco), where world governments and non-state actors gathered to increase ambition and action on climate change. It is a week to the day that the landmark Paris Agreement entered into force and more businesses than ever before are taking bold climate actions, to help ensure global warming stays well below two degrees.

After adding 8 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity for its captive use, Dalmia Cement has set an ambitious interim target to increase fourfold its percentage of renewable energy consumption by 2030 compared to 2015.

Mahendra Singhi, group CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited said, “Being one of the greenest cement companies in the world, we are committed to decarbonising our operations in a way that makes business sense. Our presence as the first cement company in RE100 and EP100 illustrates our commitment on this issue. We are scaling up our ambition to double our energy productivity and make a long term transition to 100 percent renewable power, achieving a fourfold increase in the percentage of renewable energy in our electricity consumption by 2030.”

At present, about 7 percent of the electricity sourced by Dalmia Cement is based on renewable energy. This includes the share of renewable energy in the national grid, as well as electricity generated on site. At Dalmia Bharat Group level around 40 percent installed generation capacity is based on renewables.

“This is an inspiring and bold action from one of the outstanding leaders from the sector, which will help India to deliver its climate commitments. INDC corporates can help to deliver a secure and affordable electricity supply in India, by showing investors and policy makers that they back renewable power. We hope many more companies come forward to help transition to a prosperous net-zero future, creating a win-win situation for all,” said Krishnan Pallassana, executive director, India at The Climate Group, which specialises in catalytic and high-profile climate and energy initiatives with the world’s leading businesses and state and regional governments.