Cemex to publish carbon content

Cemex has developed a new tool to calculate the carbon footprint of its products. It will now start labelling products with the amount of CO2 emitted as a by-product of their manufacture to help contractors and consumers chose low-carbon materials.

Cemex says it is the first company in the sector to develop such a tool to calculate cradle-to-grave carbon emissions. It announced the launch of the initiative at the 'COP16' United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico.

The company's senior vice-president of energy & sustainability, Luis Farias said, "Cemex is proud to be the first building materials company able to offer its customers comprehensive carbon content information in its key products. We continually strive to operate our business in a sustainable way by measuring and reducing the carbon footprint in our products and operations."

Juan Carlos López Agui, president of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) added, "Knowing the environmental impact of a product helps producers, consumers and societies make informed decisions and take positive steps towards operating at a sustainable level."

The company's carbon footprint tool has been verified by independent certifier, DNV, and also complies with a number of ISO standards and protocols as well as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD's) Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard.

Cemex says it is now using the carbon calculating tool on all of its operational cement plants and is rolling it out to its aggregates and ready-mixed concrete facilities. It will begin publishing product-specific carbon content information during 2011 on a "Schedule that will be driven by market requirements."