Leveraging the latest technology, most cement manufacturing plants in India consume less energy and emit less carbon-di-oxide than their European and American counterparts, said Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI).
An initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), CSI is a 23-member organisation including nine Indian cement firms. CSI members produce two-thirds of the world's cement and 60 per cent in India.
"Member companies from India are more efficient. They emit less carbon-di-oxide than the firms in Europe and the US. Their energy consumption is also less," said CSI's Managing Director Philippe Fonta in a media interaction here.
The separator from Indian firms from those in the US and Europe on these sustainability quotients is technology. Indian firms are blessed with latest technology since the growth of the industry is relatively a new phenomena.
Besides home-grown Ultratech and Dalmia Bharat (Cement), seven global companies with operations in India like Holcim's ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cement, Lafarge, HeidelbergCement, Zuari Cement among members of CSI.
Fonta said Indian companies can do better if they lay more emphasis on alternative fuel and energy, make use of municipal waste and others not only to position themselves as responsible corporate citizens but also for saving avoidable spendings.
The 360-million tonne Indian cement industry meets just 0.6 per cent sector energy requirement using alternative fuel now, but this is expected to go up to five per cent by 2020.
