ACTIVITY

REPORT 2014
 cembureau
The European Cement Association based in Brussels is the representative organisation
of the cement industry in Europe. Currently, its Full Members are the national cement
industry associations and cement companies of the European Union (EU, with the
exception of Cyprus, Malta and Slovakia) plus Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Croatia
and Serbia are Associate Members of CEMBUREAU.

The Association acts as spokesman for the cement industry before the EU institutions
and other public authorities, and communicates the industrys views on all issues and
policy developments with regard to technical, environmental, energy and sustainability
issues. Permanent dialogue is maintained with EU institutions, international authorities
and other international associations.

Serviced by a multi-national staff in Brussels and with the input from its Members via
four Working Groups as well as a number of Task Forces set up on an ad hoc basis
and directly reporting to the appropriate Working Group, CEMBUREAU takes action in
relation to all developments at European level affecting the cement industry.

CEMBUREAU plays a significant role in the world-wide sustainable development of

cement and the ready-mixed and precast concrete industries in co-operation with
Member Associations and other relevant organisations. The Association regularly
co-hosts conferences on specific issues aimed at improving the market perception of
the concrete industry and promoting the use of generic cement and concrete products.
In addition, the Association regularly commissions studies to evaluate specific issues
of importance to the industry.

Association
Europenne
du Ciment
The European
Cement
Association

Rue dArlon 55 BE-1040 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 2 234 10 11 Fax: + 32 2 230 47 20
secretariat@cembureau.eu www.cembureau.eu
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4 2014: Message from the Chief Executive

7 2014: Message from the President

10 The Economy
The World
Europe

24 Emissions reporting - GNR & beyond

26 CEMBUREAU main issues

34 Energy
CemProspects
The Energy Market 2014

36 Events

38 About CEMBUREAU

41 Members & Associate Members

42 Abbreviations glossary

3
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

2014: MESSAGE FROM

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
2014 marked a turnaround both in policy-thinking
and our industry. From a policy perspective, it was
refreshing to see a strong focus by the European
institutions on competitiveness, innovation and
energy. A new term saw the day of light: industrial
competitiveness will be mainstreamed across
all EU policy areas. The priority areas of the new
European Commission, jobs, growth, investment,
climate and energy, all with a strong underlying
focus on better regulation, are part of that same
coordination effort and are promising in bringing
Europe back on track.

What was important from an industry perspective

1
was the Commissions Decision of 27 October
2014 that confirmed the cement sectors exposure
to carbon leakage for the 2015-2019 period. This
provides the legal certainty and stability that
industry has been asking for. It also allows us
to reflect more thoroughly and constructively on
Koen Coppenholle the challenges our society faces and to which
Chief Executive policymakers need to provide solutions.

We are strongly motivated to constructively engage

with policymakers. It is our belief that the cement
and concrete industry which employs 545,000
people and adds EUR 56 bn to the European
economy, will be a driving force in moving Europes
agenda forward and in helping to build the schools,
hospitals, offices and infrastructure of tomorrow.
With its base firmly established in Europes local
economies, from quarry to end-product, our sector
is the backbone of construction in Europe, which
accounts for 10% of GDP, and promotes local
growth and jobs while bringing local products to
local markets.

1
2014/746/EU: Commission Decision of 27 October 2014 determining, pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council, a list of sectors and subsectors which are deemed to be exposed to a significant risk of carbon leakage, for the period
2015 to 2019

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 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Health and safety: our
responsibility
First and foremost, it is essential to remind all our
stakeholders that the cement industry is operating
in Europe to high standards of health and safety.
The cement industry is one of the key partners
turning the European Social Dialogue Agreements
into a tangible reality through its participation in
The European Network for Silica (NEPSI) which
is a European network of employer and employee
organisations set up to educate and train workers
and ensure the dissemination, at plant level, of the
best practices relating to the possible exposure to
respirable crystalline silica. In 2014, CEMBUREAU
was proud to report on a 100% coverage of sites
with an improvement across all of the major Key
Performance Indicatorss (KPI), and that 98.7%
of employees potentially exposed are covered
by a risk assessment. In addition, the percentage
of employees covered by exposure monitoring
as well as the number of employees trained has
expanded over the years. In matters of health and
safety, cement companies have a proven track
record of sharing best practices, raising awareness
with the workforce through targeted information
campaigns, designing interactive compliance tools
and all of that in a spirit of good cooperation with
the trade unions.
Starting from the principle of responsible care for
its workers and for society at large, the cement
industry will help governments to address the
challenges society faces. These challenges
have been laid out in several policy documents
published over the year.
Cement and concrete at the
heart of the circular economy
According to the European Commission, each
person in the EU today consumes 15 tonnes of
materials annually while generating 5 tonnes of
waste, with half going to landfill. The Commission
also emphasises that energy recovery will have a
role to play with regard to non-reusable and non-
recyclable waste. It is further keen to stimulate
markets in recycled materials derived from
construction and demolition waste and develop
a common EU assessment framework for the
environmental performance of buildings.
CEMBUREAU has worked hard to refine its
messaging on the resource efficiency agenda.
With a view to position co-processing higher on
the waste agenda, this unique process is now
clearly promoted as a combination of both material
recycling and energy recovery. Today, alternative
fuels account for 34% of the cement industry fuel
mix and, in line with our Roadmap "The role of
Cement in the 2050 Low Carbon Economy", the
aim is to take this up to 60% by 2050. This would
lead to a 27% reduction in fuel CO2 emissions. In
addition, in 2012 the industry saved 6Mt of raw
materials by using alternative raw materials.
Further downstream, the end product of our
industry, concrete, is fully recyclable either into
new concrete or in other applications such as road
base. The cement and concrete sector are ready
to assess with governments how our business
models can foster an increased recycling rate
of construction and demolition waste and how
local building codes can be revised to encourage
increased levels of recycled content. The sector
will also be fully supportive of a landfill ban for
recoverable and recyclable waste as this will
allow continued access to materials that allow the
cement industry to continue playing its essential
role in the circular economy.
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 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

A competitive, full supply chain All these developments are taking place against an
economic background that remains challenging.
oriented policy framework The cement and concrete industry is ready to
play its part in renovating and rebuilding Europes
Bringing about a circular economy requires that
houses, buildings and infrastructure and this in line
all operators in the supply chain are aligned
with its long-term standards of high performance.
on the same goals. Regulatory initiatives on
The industry needs a solid basis, however,
resource efficiency and on the circular economy
which means a predictable set of consistent
cannot be considered separately from an overall
and coordinated rules that take into account the
climate & energy policy. Indeed, concrete can
full supply chain. Our industry is also turning to
contribute to improving energy efficiency and
policymakers to ensure that Europe strikes a
lowering emissions and it can be fully recycled
workable balance between the justified need to
at the end of its life. An optimal result will only be
ensure a strong environmental performance of our
achieved, however, when the circular economy
companies while ensuring they can continue to
considerations are taken up at the design stage
compete on a global level playing field.
of a building and are part of a whole life-cycle
approach to buildings.
CEMBUREAU will constructively engage in
building this policy framework and looks forward
Likewise, the debate on CO2 emissions and, more
to discussing its reflections on the energy and
broadly, climate change legislation, should not
climate policy, including a reform of EU ETS, for
stop at the factory gate. Legislation that focuses
the period after 2020.
on only one part of the supply chain and ignores
the environmental benefits of the products at the
Personally, I feel privileged to work with a team
end of the full supply chain, results in misguided
and members that are all strongly dedicated to
policies and missed opportunities to promote the
promote the unique strengths of our industry to
strong contribution of energy-intensive industries
policymakers. Thank you all for the constructive
to the welfare of Europes citizens. Whilst it is a
comments, for keeping up a high level of expertise,
fact that the embodied energy represents only
attendance and interest in our meetings, for the
5-10% of the total energy use over the life cycle
continuous reflection and out-of the box thinking
of a building, we cannot ignore that cement-
and for the strong personal relationships: all of
related CO2 emissions do account for around 5%
these turn a job into a passion!
of global emissions. Here as well, our industry
is ready to take responsibility. Over the past 60
years, we have succeeded in achieving a 44%
reduction in CO2/m3 concrete. The Roadmap "The
role of Cement in the 2050 Low Carbon Economy"
does not only highlight industrys technological
advances over the past 20 years that have all
contributed to improved sustainability of our
businesses in terms of energy-efficiency and
reduction of emissions, it also demonstrates that
innovation is at the core of the cement industrys
activities. Innovation initiatives range from a
constant search to improve our knowledge on the
use of alternative raw materials to research into
innovative low-clinker cements and concrete to
continuous improvements of thermal efficiency in
our plants. As a member of the Technical Advisory
Board of the European Cement Research
Academy (ECRA), CEMBUREAU has been
strongly involved in research and pilot testing on
carbon capture projects for the cement industry
whereby reuse is investigated as an interesting
promising avenue.

6
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

2014: MESSAGE FROM

THE PRESIDENT
On 27 May 2014, CEMBUREAU, along with
the precast (BIBM) and ready-mixed (ERMCO)
associations, launched The Concrete Initiative
at an event where industry experts, NGOs and
policymakers engaged in a thought-provoking
dialogue on how concrete can contribute to a more
energy and resource-efficient society. The key
messages were further conveyed to and tested
with Members of the newly elected European
Parliament at a very-well attended evening dinner
in November in Strasbourg.

Why The Concrete Initiative?

1. It may be obvious, but societys use of
structures in which concrete is a constituent
is the ultimate end use of cement. Of course,
we in the industry all recognize concretes
Peter Hoddinott unique properties and massive contribution
both in functionality and to the circular
President economy. We need to present this compelling
case for concrete, which levels the playing
field and allows policymakers to realize
their aims through increased concrete use
for a low carbon economy, for much greater
energy efficiency, for affordable housing
and infrastructure and for safe and resilient
buildings.

2. Much good work on this has been done

individually at national association level, and
this can be shared across our sector.

3. Concrete construction can be aesthetically

dazzling and dramatic, while also fulfilling
societys needs at the most basic level

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 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
for reasonably priced shelter. This means
that great scope exists to boost the image
of concrete, and thereby also of cement.
This view is not always shared at regulator,
prescriptor and specifier levels, and not even
by normal citizens. If we want to improve the
image of our products and increase their use,
we have a duty to open their eyes.
The Aims:
Through The Concrete Initiative, the cement and
concrete industry aims to demonstrate that concrete
enables innovative solutions for society and the
safe, long-lived, low carbon built environment of
tomorrow. This is achievable through building on
the historic improvements in manufacturing and
product performance, reinforced by cutting edge
R&D plus inspired architectural and engineering
design. Together, this recipe is focused on the
delivery of concrete-based construction, which can
be infinitely versatile, totally functional and highly
cost-effective, yet potentially presenting itself in
dramatic, striking and aesthetically memorable
structures.
The key question for us is: how can we transform
the dreams of architects, engineers, town
planners and housebuilders into reality in order
to provide structures and neighbourhoods which
are environmentally friendly, safe, durable and
transformatory to citizens and neighbourhoods
whether as individual homeowners or as
users of infrastructure. In other words, how
does concrete contribute to each of the three
pillars of sustainability: economic, social and
environmental?
1
Moving towards a Circular Economy (July 2014)
8
Stakeholder Feedback The
Four Rs:
Based on the invaluable input we received from
stakeholders so far, we have structured and will
continue the dialogue around what we like to refer
to as the four Rs:
Recycling: approximately one third of
all waste in Europe comes from
construction and demolition, amounting
to 450Mt/year, of which only one third
is recycled. We share the European
Commissions view, expressed in its initial
1
Circular Economy package that we need
to increase the recycling of construction
and demolition waste. Producing recycled
construction materials, aggregates
and fill from demolition waste is now
increasingly mainstream and built into
our business models and we have made
public commitments to grow this business
strongly. Meanwhile for the combustible
portion of wastes, we have replaced
around 1/3 of all the fossil fuels to make
cement by alternative fuels from waste and
all this has taken place since 1990. Further
considerable advances are foreseen in
all these areas in the Roadmap "The
role of Cement in the 2050 Low Carbon
Economy".
Regulation: concrete recycling will be
facilitated if a whole life performance
approach is embedded in regulation and
applied to buildings. Another critical facet
of regulation relates to building safety.
According to the European Fire Fighters
Union (one of our stakeholders), 2 million
house fires break out across Europe each
year, resulting in deaths of around 4000
people and 70000 citizens hospitalized
with serious injuries. Fire fighters are
becoming increasingly concerned by the
speed at which fires spread in a building,
how resistant the building materials are in
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

the event of a fire, how much time people
have to evacuate a building, and the toxicity
of the gases. Overall, they are looking for
fire safety legislation to ensure that modern
construction methods and materials do not
impinge on the fire safety of buildings.
Concrete scores very well in this regard!
Reducing Emissions in Europe: in
Europe, buildings consume around 40%
of energy (and account for 36% of CO2).
The energy consumption of a conventional
building is typically 150-200kWh/m2/year.
Todays concrete allows a 75% reduction
of that energy consumption thanks to
its thermal mass. When the air is warm,
concrete absorbs heat and lowers room
temperatures and when temperatures
fall, concrete releases heat. This natural
air conditioning effect, when linked with
intelligent concrete building design enables
buildings to be constructed that consume
50kWh/m2/year or less. The potential
for transforming Europes energy bill is
immense.
Renovation and rebuild: 35% to 42% of
Europes enormous building stock (25 bn
m2 for 510 MM people) dates back to the
pre-1960s and is only gradually (1%/year)
being replaced by more energy efficient
buildings. For every 20 newly erected
buildings only one is demolished. As a
result, energy consumption improvements
as referred to above, are progressing at a
snails pace. The concrete sector is ready
to contribute to a more energy efficient
housing environment through a two-prong
approach whereby houses are rebuilt
with strong gains in multi-functionality
and, at the same time, existing buildings
are renovated through the application of
innovative techniques such as concrete
panels retrofitted to the exterior of buildings
with a sandwich of insulation, achieving the
same energy efficiency performance in a
cost effective way.
which acknowledge and leverage the unique
contribution our sector and its highly versatile
product for Europes future, safe, low carbon built
environment. Following the launch in 2014, 2015
is the year where we aim to create compelling
fact-based cases for regulators and stakeholders
which can ultimately see life cycle analysis, thermal
inertia, fire safety parameters etc embedded in
regulations, norms, codes and labels, all with
the aim to level the playing field for the choice by
specifiers of construction materials. The possible
climate agreement at the end of 2015 in Paris
could also further position concrete as a major
solution to energy efficiency challenges in EU.
This flagship initiative has taken off successfully
thanks to the innovative thinking and leadership
of Working Group D and the project team led by
Cdric De Meeus and Denis Berthon, in close
cooperation with the CEMBUREAU Secretariat
and more specifically Jessica Johnson and Karl
Downey.
I also wish to express my warmest thanks for the
unrelenting efforts and efficiency of the whole
CEMBUREAU staff in identifying and analysing
policy initiatives of relevance to our sector and in
shaping the CEMBUREAU messages with a strong
dedication and attention to detail. Finally, kudos is
also due to all members of the Working Groups
and Task Forces in CEMBUREAU, who combine
their day jobs with enthusiastic and generous
engagement in the Associations work. Finally, a
word of thanks to you to all for positioning cement
and concrete as the backbone for Europes future!

Conclusions and Recognition:

2014 has been the year where we put the
messages in place, launched the Concrete
Initiative and initiated a dialogue with stakeholders.
The challenge ahead of us lies in reinforcing
that dialogue and securing wide sectoral and
stakeholder support for well-defined and actionable
policy requests to shape EU and national policies

9
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

THE ECONOMY
Source for all charts: CEMBUREAU

The World
World Production and World Trends

In 2014, the world economy continued to

be affected by some global macroeconomic
uncertainty, although certain key developments
reshaped the global outlook over the fourth quarter
of the year, resulting in clear signs of improvement
in economic sentiment and higher growth
perspectives for 2015 in most regions. Oil prices
1
have decreased by -55% since June 2014 as a
result of persisting demand weakness in advanced
economies, therefore putting tough pressure on
some major oil-producing emerging economies
(BRICS, Venezuela). The announcement and the
subsequent launch of the European Central Banks
(ECB) Asset Purchase Programme in January
2014 (i.e. Quantitative Easing, QE) has led to a
considerable depreciation of the EUR vs. other
major currencies, notably the US$ (with a nominal
decrease of the EUR/US$ exchange rate of 17%
since June 2014) and the CHF. In parallel, the QE
carried out by the Federal Reserve (FED) in the US
is expected to come to a gradual end in 2015 (i.e.
tapering) with expectations of higher key interest
rates in the US and subsequent appreciation of
the US$. The European QE has also triggered
expectations for further decreases in interest rate
levels, resulting in a lower sovereign debt burden
and lower long-term interest rates on bonds, which
is likely to boost private and business investment.
However, economic performance continued to
diverge amongst the different regions of the world,

1
Source: Energy Internal Administration (www.eia.gov). The spot price of Brent Europe has been used as reference

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 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
with emerging economies continuing to clearly
outperform advanced economies. Domestic
demand in emerging economies slowed down and
partly offset the subdued demand in advanced
economies, where exports (particularly for EU
economies) continued to provide the strongest
contribution to GDP growth. In 2014, the US
economy recorded its fourth consecutive year
of growth and gained momentum as real GDP
increased by +2.4% (+2.2% in 2013), continuing
to outperform the EU which experienced a
moderate economic growth of +1.3% compared
to the stagnation recorded in 2013. In the EU,
the negative economic cycle bottomed out in Q3
and Q4, resulting in an end to the recession for
many EU Member States. This paves the way for
expectations of growth gaining momentum in 2015,
despite widening gaps in economic performance
between EU Member States, with unemployment
rates still at record highs. The economic outlook
in the EU is expected to improve substantially
during 2015 as a result of the aforementioned
unprecedented action carried out by the ECB, and
the combination of the fall in oil prices, interest
rates at record lows and EUR depreciation. In
Japan, the recovery lost ground as real GDP rose
by +0.4% (+1.6% in 2013). 2014 global output
expanded by +3.3% (just as it did in 2013) whilst
in developing countries the real GDP growth rate
attained +4.4, which is less vibrant than the +4.7%
increase recorded in 2013. In 2014, economic
growth in advanced economies accelerated, as it
rose from the +1.3% recorded in 2013% to +1.8%
in 2014.
Global 2014 cement production is estimated at
4.3 billion tonnes (Bt), translating into a +6.7%
2
increase compared to the 4Bt recorded in 2013 .
This figure reflects the positive developments in
cement demand in major emerging economies.
However, China slowed down considerably
after the spectacular year-on-year increase
of +10.4% in 2013, recording a growth of only
+3.3%. In 2014, China represented 56.5% of
2
In detail: 4,312 million tonnes in 2014 vs. 4,043 in 2013
global cement production, compared to 58.3% in
2013. Without taking into account China, global
cement production increased year-on-year by
+11.3%, gaining some speed compared to 2013
(+9.3%). As in previous years, cement production
volumes in the G20 emerging economies clearly
outperformed those of mature economies. In
aggregate terms, emerging countries recorded
a +13.7% growth year-on-year, compared to an
increase of +2.1% in G20 countries. According
to provisional figures, the highest growth rates
were recorded in the Russian Federation and
India, whilst cement production experienced a
recession in Argentina and South Africa. Amongst
the G20 countries, the recovery in cement
production was widespread across all countries,
resulting in outstanding annual performances in
the UK, Canada and the US (with increases of
+8.2%, +5.8% and +4.9% respectively). The only
exception was South Korea, which recorded a
decrease of -0.4%. European members of the G20
recorded mixed performances, just as they did in
2013.
Production continued to increase in 2014
compared to the previous year in South America,
Africa and Asia. These regions were responsible
for 4.4%, 4.8% and 80.4% of world cement
production, respectively. The CEMBUREAU
Member countries accounted for 5.5% of global
production (5.8% in 2013) whilst the proportion
of global production in the EU Member States
remained the same as in 2013, i.e. 3.7%.
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 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

World cement production by region - Evolution 2001-2014

(2001=100)

350
Af rica America Asia

CIS Europe Oceania

300

250

200

150

100

50
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

World cement production 2014, by region and main countries, %

4.3 billion tonnes

CEMBUREAU, 5.5 Europe (excl.

Oceania, 0.3 CEMBUREAU), 0.2
CIS, 2.4
America (excl.
USA), 4.6

USA, 1.9

Af rica, 4.8

Asia (excl. China, China, 56.5

Japan, India), 15.5

India, 7.0

Japan, 1.4

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 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

Main world producers - The G20 Group

Cement production (Million tonnes)
Country 2001 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
China 661.0 1,236.8 1,361.2 1,388.4 1,644.0 1,881.9 2,063.2 2,137.0 2,359.0 2,438.0 p
India 102.9 159.0 170.5 185.0 205.0 220.0 270.0 239.0 272.0 300.0 p
European Union 225.6 262.3 269.1 250.8 209.0 192.1 191.6 170.5 157.5 159.4 p
USA 88.9 98.2 95.5 86.3 63.9 65.2 68.6 74.0 77.2 81.0 p
Brazil 39.4 41.4 45.9 51.6 51.7 59.1 63.0 68.0 71.9 72.0 p
Turkey 30.0 47.4 49.3 51.4 54.0 62.7 63.4 63.9 72.7 71.2
Russian Federation 28.7 54.7 59.9 53.5 44.3 50.4 56.1 53.0 55.6 68.4 e
Japan 79.5 73.2 71.4 67.6 59.6 56.6 56.4 59.3 61.7 62.0 e
Korea, Rep. of 52.0 49.2 52.2 51.7 50.1 47.4 48.2 46.9 47.3 47.1
Saudi Arabia 20.0 27.0 30.3 37.4 37.8 42.5 48.0 43.0 48.0 51.8 p
Indonesia 31.1 33.0 35.0 38.5 36.9 39.5 45.2 53.5 52.0 54.2 e
Mexico 33.2 37.9 38.8 37.1 35.1 34.5 35.4 36.8 37.0 39.4 e
Germany 32.1 33.6 33.4 33.6 30.4 29.9 33.5 32.4 31.5 32.0 p
Italy 39.8 47.8 47.4 43.0 36.3 34.4 33.1 26.2 23.1 21.4
France 19.1 22.0 22.1 21.2 18.1 18.0 19.4 18.0 17.5 16.4
Canada 12.1 14.3 15.1 13.7 11.0 12.4 12.0 12.5 12.1 12.8
Argentina 5.5 8.9 9.6 9.7 9.4 10.4 11.6 10.7 11.9 11.4
South Africa 8.4 13.1 13.7 13.4 11.8 10.9 11.2 13.8 14.9 13.8 e
Australia 6.8 9.2 9.2 9.4 9.2 8.3 8.6 8.8 8.6 9.0 e
United Kingdom 11.9 12.1 12.6 10.5 7.8 7.9 8.5 7.9 8.5 9.3

Notes: p: Preliminary - e: Estimate

Europe
Compared to 2013, and according to the latest
data available, 2014 cement production in the
CEMBUREAU Member countries recorded a very
moderate recovery, rising by +0.3% in annual
terms after the drops recorded in 2013 and 2012
(-1.4% and -8.2% respectively), reaching 235.5
million tonnes (Mt). Individual European markets
recorded mixed performance. Spain recorded
positive growth in cement production (+5.5%) after
the harsh recession experienced in previous years.
On the other hand, Italy continued to experience
a sharp recession in cement production (-7.4%
further to -12% in 2013), as did France (-6%
further to -3% in 2013). Germany experienced a
recovery after the temporary year-on-year drop
3
in 2013 (+1.8% further to -3% in 2013) , Cement
production improved in several Eastern European
countries, with bullish performances in terms
of year-on-year growth in the Czech Republic,
Latvia, Poland and Slovenia in particular. Bulgaria
was the only exception to this positive picture as
cement production decreased by -6.2%. In the
EU28 as a whole, cement production increased by
+1.2% year-on-year, i.e. from 157.5Mt to 159.4Mt,
marking the end of the three-year recession that
culminated in annual drops of some -11% and
-7.6% in 2012 and 2013. However, the cumulative
peak-to-trough fall since 2007 (the year prior to the
onset of the economic crisis) in cement production
for the EU28 is -50.5%.
Total 2014 clinker and cement exports from the
CEMBUREAU Member countries fell by -2.6%
on a yearly basis, down to approximately 46Mt,
further to the moderate drop of -1% recorded in
2013. Contrary to previous years, the year-on-
year change in imports was positive, i.e. by +1.3%,
reaching 18Mt. In 2014, clinker represented
27.4% and 13.1% of total export and import flows,
respectively.
2014 developments in cement demand were
in line with the upturn in the general economic
and construction environment, particularly over
the second half of the year, reflecting somewhat
improved economic sentiment, despite tight
financial conditions in many Member States and
weak domestic demand. Cement consumption

3
Please note that the cement production figure for Germany in 2014 is an estimate

13
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Cement production in CEMBUREAU and EU28 countries
Million tonnes
350
CEMBUREAU
EU28
300
250
200
150
100
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
dropped compared to 2013 in some CEMBUREAU
Member countries but recorded positive year-on-
year performances in most national markets. As
a result, across the whole of the CEMBUREAU
region cement consumption rose by +0.7%
compared to 2013. However, as in 2013, it should
be pointed out that this overall figure conceals a
considerable disparity between countries with
moderate decreases in some national markets
compared to considerable falls in others, although
fewer EU countries experienced a recession in
cement consumption.
Country by country analysis
Austria
Overview: In 2014, Vienna faced a huge increase
in immigration with the volume of construction
sites related to housing attaining a record high.
In the other construction subsectors, big projects
(i.e. infrastructure) depended on the conditions of
public finance.
Future trends: No major improvements are
expected in terms of cement production and
consumption volumes in Austria for 2015. Given
that the current high level of housing constructions
in the Vienna region is expected to continue, the
cement sector is likely to remain stable over the
course of the year, although the latest indicators
have signalled a decline in cement deliveries
during the first few months of 2015.
14
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Belgium
Overview: Further to a decrease of -5.8% in 2013
(compared to 2012), domestic cement consumption
experienced a growth of +1.4% in 2014, reaching
6.1Mt, revealing a positive yearly performance.
Indeed, the most recent 10-year average for
cement consumption is 6.0Mt. This positive trend
is certainly due to favourable weather conditions,
particularly from January to March 2014, which
is traditionally a period of subdued construction
activity. In addition, cement imports decreased
by 12.8% in 2014 compared to 2013. In 2014, the
construction sector ended the year with a moderate
upturn thanks to the aforementioned mild weather
conditions. The residential subsector experienced
a drop in the number of building permits and a shift
from houses to apartments, as well as an increase
in the number of renovation works, which had a
negative impact on new construction activity. At
the same time, non residential construction also
experienced a decrease, as did civil engineering.
The latter subsector continued to be negatively
affected by subdued government investment, both
at federal and local level.
Future trends: 2015 is expected to be particularly
uncertain for all construction subsectors. Indeed,
the order books have yet to be filled and some job
losses are expected in the sector. According to the
latest Euroconstruct forecasts, the construction
sector in Belgium should experience zero growth
in 2015, which in turn is likely to translate into a
decrease of at least -3% in cement consumption.
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Bulgaria
Overview: In 2014, the downward trend in cement
consumption observed throughout the last five
years came to a halt, resulting in a slight upswing
(+5% increase compared to the -1% drop recorded
in 2013) mainly due to vibrant activity witnessed
at the beginning of the year, although this positive
trend cooled down as a result of the political crisis
and bank turmoil during the summer and autumn.
The private construction sector started to regain
ground due to very low interest rates for loans
compared to 2013, as well as the perception that
the economic crisis is nearly coming to an end. A
substantial increase in consumer confidence was
registered by the national statistics, as a result
of which the total area of residential buildings
under construction and completed during the
year increased by +9% compared to 2013. The
residential sector in large cities recovered by
about +3% in terms of prices and resulted in a 25%
shortening of the time needed for the completion
of deals. During the year, the volume of real estate
transactions for business purposes more or less
doubled and office rents in large cities increased
by over +8%, which showed a stable trend
towards an increase in demand and construction
activity in the sector. Positive developments were
recorded for public infrastructure projects (mainly
highways and road construction), triggered by the
relatively high rates of absorption of EU structural
funds as they approach the end of the European
Commissions 2007-2013 Regional Development
Operational Programme disbursement period.
Future trends: There are certain grounds for
positive expectations in terms of 2015 cement
consumption. However, given the impact of the
negative trends which have been recorded over
the last 4-5 months, a more moderate growth is
forecast. The market is expected to be influenced
by two main factors: an increase in construction
in the private building sector and the greater
priority which is being afforded by the new
government to investment in public infrastructure
(including highways, dams, water supply and
sewage infrastructure systems). Factors which
are expected to have an impact on the residential
building market (which will therefore have an
influence on mid-term cement consumption)
are: positive dynamics in the residential building
market, increased demand for newly constructed
buildings after a long period of virtually no
residential construction, affordable loans making
investments more appealing, a considerable
increase in savings and a fall in confidence in
the banking system (leading to a hunt for safer
alternatives to bank deposits), an end to the price
reductions linked to newly built apartments and
signs of a slight increase in construction prices,
an increase in the number of permits for the
development of new residential areas issued by
local administrations in the last quarter of 2014
(according to national statistics, the total figure is
+53% higher compared to 2013), and the start of a
large scale national program for the renovation of
multi-dwelling buildings. Concerning demand for
new offices in Bulgaria, 2014 marked a new peak
in its development since the start of the global
economic crisis. A further increase is expected
in 2015, implying a corresponding increase
in new construction and, therefore, in cement
consumption.
Croatia
Overview: In 2014, cement consumption slightly
increased by +0.8% compared to 2013.
Future trends: The overall economic situation did
not improve during 2014 resulting in another year
of recession (-0.5%). However, a positive GDP
growth rate is expected in 2015. The construction
sector is expected to record the same performance
as in 2014.
15
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

Czech Republic Denmark

Overview: In 2014, cement production in the
Czech Republic reached 3,691Mt (+10%) year-
on-year, and cement consumption 3,527Mt (+5%).
In 2014, construction output increased by +2.3%
year-on-year in real terms. Building construction
volumes remained around the level of 2013, year-
on-year, and civil engineering construction volumes
increased by +7.5% (contribution of +2.3%), year-
on-year. Compared to 2008, which was a very
positive year for construction, 2014 construction
output dropped by -22.1%. In 2014, the number
of orders received by construction companies with
50+ employees increased by +9.7%, year-on-year.
These companies received and concluded 45,714
orders in the Czech Republic. The total value of
the orders grew by +23.3%. Building construction
orders grew by +2%. For civil engineering, orders
grew by +40.6%. In 2014, the average value of
a newly concluded building order was +12.4%
higher, year-on-year.
Overview: In 2014, construction and building
activity was slightly better than in 2013. This was
to some extent positively affected by continued
publicly funded growth initiatives, especially
in relation to infrastructure, hospitals and
universities. A moderately positive trend was seen
for residential housing activity and the commercial
building sector, rising from a historic low point.
Future trends: 2015 volumes are expected to
improve slightly compared to 2014. Public-sector
growth activities, the continued effects of other
political initiatives to boost the sector, low oil prices
and Danish kroner exchange rates will have a
positive effect on volumes. The residential building
segment is expected to continue the mild positive
trend in 2015. The commercial building segment is
expected to remain at the historically low levels of
recent years.

Future trends: For 2015, cement consumption is

expected to rise by +5%.

CEMBUREAU Trade 1977-2014

Million tonnes (cement and clinker)

Exports
50
Imports

40

30

20

10

0
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

Note: Exports and imports including intra-trade flows between CEMBUREAU countries

16
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Estonia
Overview: In 2014, the Estonian construction
market improved slightly during the year. Cement
consumption increased by +3% in 2014 compared
to the previous year. The main driver was
growth in the residential as well as infrastructure
construction sectors.
Future trends: A moderate increase is expected
in the near future, although the market could
potentially remain static. There are good prospects
for growth in the residential sector, supported by
low interest rates and growing real estate prices.
At the same time, certain insecurity remains due to
the overall economic outlook.
Finland
Overview: In general, 2014 has been much like
2013. It has been a slow year for the construction
industry. All building start-ups are down by -3%, of
which residential start-ups are down by -14%.
Future trends: Forecasting has become
increasingly challenging. Finland has recently
revised its official construction statistics from 1995
onwards. 2015 is expected to be much like 2014,
with potentially a slight increase overall. Notable
projects are the new wind farms which are being
built in northern Finland.
France
Overview: Although the first quarter of the year
was positive, a fall was recorded from March
onwards. A -1Mt decrease in consumption has
been recorded. Since 2007, consumption has
fallen by nearly -30%. Housing (which accounts
for 1/3 of cement consumption) is still very low
and 2014 was marked by a harsh fall (-11% in new
housing construction). Roads and civil engineering
(accounting for 35% of the market) were affected
by strong budget cuts (including cuts to local
4
According to most economic literature, public spending tends to increase substantially during so-called "electoral cycles" that is the
period of one or two years preceding political elections. This is particularly relevant for France where public expenditure decisions are
mostly made at the local level (i.e. Departments)
budgets, the impact of the elections held in March
which meant that public spending came to an end
4
immediately after these elections , and the fact
that the former eco-tax, a Heavy Vehicle Transit
tax applied to trucks and lorries was discontinued,
leading to a loss in public finance revenues). The
non-residential sector (which accounts for 15-20%
of the market) also recorded negative growth in
2014.
Future trends: At the moment, prospects are
low for France in 2015 (-3.5% in terms of cement
consumption, with 17.5Mt of cement consumed).
The housing market remains very low and may
even turn out to be slightly negative. Industry is
regaining confidence in exports and, as such, the
sector is not too concerned. Public budgets remain
very constrained. Civil engineering should be as
low as -7%. The non residential sector should
continue to decrease.
Germany
Overview: German cement consumption in 2014
increased by +2.2%. This development was
mainly driven by rising demand for residential
buildings, particularly in major and university cities.
According to a recent estimation, around 244,000
houses were completed in 2014, approximately
+14% more than in 2013. During the past few
years, the share of residential construction in
cement demand has increased significantly.
In 2014, building completions in the sector of
commercial construction are expected to remain
at the level of the previous year. The contribution
of civil engineering to 2014 cement consumption is
likewise expected to remain unchanged.
Future trends: Within the context of a positive
economic situation, 2015 German cement
consumption is expected to remain at the
level of the previous year. Positive impacts are
17
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
forecast from the residential construction sector
due to a sustained high demand, especially in
agglomerated areas. Further beneficial impacts
are expected from civil engineering. During
previous years, a comprehensive backlog in
German transport infrastructure was accumulated
and is now expected to be handled by the public
sector. In contrast, the recent development of
building permits in the commercial construction
sector remains below expectations.
Greece
Overview: In 2014 domestic consumption
increased by a small percentage, mainly due to
the restarting of public works. Building construction
was still down by approximately -9%, while civil
engineering works were up by almost +50%, based
on provisional data from the Statistics Authority.
Future trends: Providing a forecast for 2015
is hard given that it will be closely linked to the
overall economic situation.
Hungary
Overview: Cement consumption increased year-
on-year in 2014 by +6.9%. Hungarian construction
activity (after a recession lasting several years and
a nearly +10% expansion in the previous year)
was +14.2% higher in 2014 with an increase in the
output of the two main construction groups. The
Construction in Europe* - Breakdown by type in 2014 (%)
Construction value (2013 prices): 1,305 Billion
New civil
engineering,
13.6
Civil
engineering
R&M, 8.6
Non-residential
R&M, 15.9
New non-
residential,
* Euroconstruct19 Countries 16.7
Source: Euroconstruct
18
construction of buildings grew by +4.2% owing
to the construction of industrial, medical and
educational buildings. Residential construction
has also risen. Approximately +15% more new
homes were built in 2014 compared to the previous
year. Output from the civil engineering sector
rose by +24.8% due to works in the development
of transport infrastructure. The volume of new
contracts was -17.3% lower in 2014 compared to
the previous year.
Future trends: In 2015 the high growth rate of
construction activity is highly likely to be moderate.
According to experts, a slight growth in cement
consumption is expected for 2015.
Ireland
Overview: 2014 showed a return to moderate
growth during the year. Irish construction
recovered somewhat in 2014 with growth primarily
in new housing, albeit from a low base.
Future trends: Construction levels are expected
to continue to rise in 2015, with the level of
growth in the residential sector continuing
although it still remains far off the heights of the
last decade. Recent impacts due to mortgage
lending restrictions introduced in early 2015 and
amendments to the Planning and Development
Acts will have an impact on construction levels.
New
residential,
17.4
Residential-
R&M, 27.8
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Italy
Overview: In 2014, Italian cement consumption
showed a significant decrease compared to 2013
(-8%). The analysis by type of construction activity
shows an overall decrease hitting all sectors.
Future trends: Italian cement consumption
forecast for 2015 assumes a decrease of between
-2-0%.
Latvia
Overview: Cement consumption remained in line
with construction growth projections of +7.6% year-
on-year. The construction industry breakdown by
sectors during first 3 quarters of 2014 is as follows:
housing 14%, administrative buildings 22%, retail
areas 3%, production areas 7%, roads & bridges
23%, ports & dams 3%, communications & utilities
11% and others 17%.
Future trends: The construction industry is
expected to contract by -0.5% in 2015 (according
to the Ministry of Finance).
Lithuania
Overview: 2014 domestic demand for cement
consumption has grown by +17% compared to
2013. This increase in cement consumption is
due to investments in the civil sector, including
huge infrastructure and civil engineering projects.
In 2014, Lithuanian construction companies
undertook works to the tune of 2.5 billion, which is
+15.6% compared to 2013. Building construction
volumes were +19.3% higher than in 2013, while
civil engineering has grown by +12.3% compared
to 2013. Civil engineering, industry and wholesale
had the greatest impact on GDP growth in 2014.
The growth rate of construction value added was
the greatest of all economic sectors.
Future trends: The growth in the volume of
cement sales in the 2015 domestic market is
related to huge growth in infrastructure and civil
engineering projects, which will probably increase
by +5-6%.
Luxembourg
Overview: Cement consumption increased by
+1.6% in 2014. Construction output in Luxembourg
performed better compared to the previous year.
Both the residential and non-residential sector
recorded positive performances. Cuts in public
spending, however, continued to impact civil
engineering.
Future trends: Cement consumption is expected
to grow by an estimated +7% over the next few
years.
Netherlands
Overview: Despite the slight growth in construction
sector output (CSO), cement consumption in the
Netherlands decreased by around -2% in 2014.
This slight growth in construction sector output
related to commercial buildings for transport and
logistical services in particular. The lowest volume
of completed dwellings ever was recorded.
Non-residential buildings for offices and healthcare
have decreased the value of CSO.
Future trends: Due to increased volume of
building permits for housing, the CSO for housing
will grow in double-digit figures. The CSO in non-
residential and civil engineering will grow by some
percentage points. Cement consumption in the
Netherlands is expected to grow between +2-4%.
Norway
Overview: A decrease in residential construction
was recorded as a consequence of tightened
lending criteria/higher equity requirements in
the banking sector. Stable activity was recorded
within non-residential construction. A still high and
slightly increasing activity related to infrastructure
projects was registered, although a -10% decrease
in residential construction has been recorded.
Future trends: Total cement consumption is
estimated to increase by +1% in 2015, mainly
related to infrastructure projects.
Poland
Overview: 2014 cement consumption increased
by +6.6% compared to 2013, demonstrating
good prosperity for the cement market in Poland.
Forecast sales should amount to 16Mt of cement.
The main reason behind this increase is higher
economic activity in railways and the road
construction sector.
Future trends: Most economic indicators are
supportive of economic growth. 2015 GDP growth
is expected to achieve +3.5%, so it will be higher
than 2014 which amounted to +3.3%. A decline
in unemployment and an increase in domestic
demand and value added in the construction
sector are also foreseen.
19
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Portugal
Overview: Portugals real GDP rose +0.9%
in 2014, driven by an acceleration of private
consumption and investment, while imports
increased more strongly than exports. The latest
economic and confidence indicators suggest
that the recovery in domestic demand should
continue, with the help of lower commodity prices
whilst the weak external environment continues
to exert pressure on export growth. Construction
activity continued to decline in 2014 (-4.5%). The
construction subsectors performed as follows: civil
engineering fell by -1%, residential by -10% and
non residential by -5.7%, respectively.
Future trends: Projections for the Portuguese
economy in 2015-2016 reflect an ongoing
process of gradual adjustment of macroeconomic
imbalances, amid moderate growth of activity
and of the price level, also characterised by the
maintenance of the ability to reduce external
indebtedness. This should translate into an annual
average expansion of real GDP by +1.5% and
+1.6% in 2015 and 2016, respectively, sustained
by the maintenance of export growth and the
acceleration in investment, together with some
deceleration in private consumption. Construction
activity is expected to increase by approximately
+1.5% in 2015. Both the civil engineering sector
(+2%) and different buildings segments (+1.1%)
have positive prospects. Residential and non
residential buildings are expected to increase
by +1.3% and +0.9% in 2015, respectively.
Cement consumption is expected to increase by
approximately +4% in 2015.
Romania
Overview: 2014 cement consumption increased
by +5.6% compared to 2013 due to private
investment, residential and non-residential
projects and favourable weather conditions.
In 2014, compared with 2013, the volume of
construction works (unadjusted series) fell
20
by -6.7%. Regarding structural elements the
following decreases were recorded: for capital
repairs -17.9%, for maintenance and current
repairs -9% and for new construction works -3.2%.
In terms of construction subsectors, the volume
of construction works decreased by -21.8% for
engineering construction. Residential and non-
residential buildings increased by +32.6% and
+16.6%.
Future trends: It is estimated that in 2015 the
cement market, in particular, and construction in
general will grow by +3-5% compared to 2014
provided that in 2015 the General Master Plan
Transportation is approved by the European
Commission. Thus, Romania is entering a new
phase of making investments in infrastructure,
giving priority to those projects that meet the
criteria of economic performance, connectivity and
investment objectives pursued by the European
Union in Romania.
Slovenia
Overview: The first signs of a slight recovery in
construction activity were shown in 2014. Due
to the completion of projects co-funded through
EU Structural Funds (municipal infrastructure
projects in particular), most of the construction
works were recorded in the segment of civil
engineering, especially at the end of 2013 and
by mid-2014. Compared to 2013, construction
activity registered the following changes in 2014:
+19.4% in the whole construction sector, -21.1%
in the residential building sector, +9.9% in the
non-residential building sector and +26.4% in the
civil engineering sector.
Future trends: According to experts in
construction activity, the future prospects are not
good. No major construction projects are planned.
Statistics regarding building permits show that
there are fewer permits issued each year.
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Spain
Overview: During 2014, the evolution of cement
consumption in Spain has revealed a change in
tendency compared to the continued decline that
began in 2008. In fact, during the year, cement
consumption initiated a phase of growth that
was highlighted particularly during the second
semester. In this sense, the second semester
has reflected a growth in cement consumption of
+4.3% in comparison with the first semester that
reflects a decline of -3.7%. For the whole year,
consumption shows a moderate growth of +0.4%.
In any case, the volume of cement consumed in
Spain in 2014 has been situated at 10.78Mt, which
is a remarkably low figure if it is compared with the
figures that have traditionally been given in Spain.
Between 1970 and 2014 the annual average
consumption was around 25Mt. In recent years,
low levels of cement consumption led the Spanish
cement industry to seek foreign markets as a
way to mitigate the strong decline in its activity.
As consequence, Spanish exports of clinker and
cement have been progressively growing until
attaining 9.59Mt in 2014, an increase of +32%
compared to the previous year. This volume of
exports makes Spain the lead country in terms of
exports within and outside the European Union.
In Spain, in recent years, the strong decline in
cement consumption has been caused by a drop
in construction activity, both residential and non-
residential as well as civil engineering. However,
a re-launch of the civil engineering sector was
initiated during 2014 and this has led to an increase
in cement consumption during the second half of
2014. Consumption in building construction has
almost stabilised compared with previous periods
and, since the initiation of works in this construction
segment are beginning to show certain signs of
recovery, cement consumption is also expected to
show signs of recovery.
Future trends: In 2015, cement consumption
forecasts show a consolidation of the recovery that
started at the end of 2014, with current forecasts
indicating that cement consumption could grow
by around +5-7% in 2015. This growth will be
the result of the consolidation in civil engineering
works and in the recovery of the construction
sector.
Sweden
Overview: 2014 cement consumption decreased
by -1.6% compared to the previous year. In
Sweden, the value of the total construction market
during 2014 increased compared to 2013. The
residential sector recorded poor performance
in 2012 but in 2013 market conditions for the
residential sector improved, particularly for the new
multifamily houses sub segment, and the sector
gained further momentum in 2014. However,
residential construction activity grew at much
lower rate in 2014 and the effect of its recovery on
the total construction market was limited.
Future trends: Compared to 2014, no major
changes are expected in terms 2015 domestic
cement consumption, with forecasts suggesting a
consumption of 2.2Mt for the year.
Switzerland
Overview: 2014 cement consumption remained
at a similar level as in 2013. The main driver
continues to be the housing sector. Infrastructure
construction remained at a more or less unchanged
level.
Future trends: A slight decrease of some -3-5% is
forecast for 2015 cement consumption. The office
and housing subsectors will experience a decrease
in the next few years. New infrastructure projects -
railway, road and energy - are being planned, but
not yet approved by the political authorities.
Turkey
Overview: The Turkish economy grew by +2.9%
in 2014. During this period, the construction sector
also recorded a growth of +2.2%, similar to the
national economy. The cement industry plays an
important role in the Turkish economy with its
nearly US$4 Bn in turnover, US$640 Mn in exports,
and providing direct and indirect employment
to 15,000 people. The Turkish cement industry
achieved 64.2Mt in domestic sales in 2014. TCMA
member plants accounted for 63.2Mt of these. In
2013, TCMA members accounted for 62.2Mt out
of a total 63.4Mt. Domestic sales grew by +1.3%
in Turkey, and by +1.5% for TCMA members.
Progress in the cement sector is similar to that of
the construction sector. At the end of 2014, 8.1Mt
of cement and 2.9Mt of clinker were exported,
translating into a decrease in cement exports
of -21.6% and an increase of +37% in terms of
clinker exports (compared to the previous year).
The decline in cement exports is primarily due to
the current situation in foreign markets. Due to the
unsteady atmosphere in neighbouring countries,
Turkish export activities have been facing tough
times. Political problems in Syria and Libya,
and the slowdown in Iraqi and Russian markets
are signs of unfavourable times ahead. With the
installation of new capacity, at the end of 2014 the
clinker production capacity attained 69.6Mt.
21
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Future trends: Growth in the cement sector
is expected to be around +5% in 2015 due to
investments in housing within the scope of urban
renewal, special projects such as a third airport,
a third bridge (Bay Bridge), infrastructure projects
such as a high-speed train, metro, highway, energy
investments such as HES/RES which aims to
decrease Turkeys energy dependence combined
with the arrival of general elections.
United Kingdom
Overview: The strong economic performance seen
in the first half of 2014 gave way to a slowdown in
the second half. Despite this slowdown in activity
in the second half of 2014, the momentum is set
to continue, with the UK economy showing signs
of revival and resilience since the start of 2015.
22
Overall, in 2014 there was annual growth of around
+6% compared to 2013. However, the volume of
construction output fell by -2.8% in the last quarter
of 2014 compared to the previous 3 months.
The decline was driven by repair & maintenance
and new housing work. However, activity in the
sector remains buoyant, with the latest PMIs for
construction activity pointing to sustained growth
in the short to medium term.
Future trends: Average independent forecasts
have revised up their growth projections for 2015
to +2.7% (from +2.6%), softening to +2.3% in
2016.
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

Evolution of cement consumption

in CEMBUREAU countries
Variation 2014/2013

MEMBERS

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Sweden

Finland

Norway

Estonia

Latvia
Ireland Denmark
Lithuania
United
Kingdom Netherlands
Poland
Belgium Germany

Luxembourg Czech Rep.

Switzerland Austria
France Hungary
Slovenia Romania
Croatia
Portugal
Serbia
Spain Italy n/a Bulgaria

Turkey
Greece

: Increase : Decrease
n/a: Not available

23
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

emissions reporting
gnr & beyond
Since 2007, CEMBUREAU has contributed to
the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development - Cement Sustainability Initiatives
(WBCDS-CSI) Getting the Numbers Right
(GNR) project, which aims at monitoring and
addressing CO2 emission trends from the cement
industry at global level. CEMBUREAU has actively
participated in the GNR data collection and
Project Management Committee ever since. The
GNR project is a CO2 and energy performance
information system, based on emission data
from individual cement installations. The system
gathers information on each factor or lever that
impacts CO2 emissions and energy efficiency,
300
Cement Production,
Production,EU28,
EU28, including the average thermal efficiency per tonne
mtonnes of clinker, and the substitution of conventional fuels
250 CO2 emissions,
Net CO2 emissions,EU28,
EU28, with alternative fuels and biomass. The information
mtonnes
contained within the system represents around
200 23% of global cement production (some 55%
without China). Separate reports for the EU28
and the CEMBUREAU region are also available,
150
including information from 304 installations,
representing approximately 95% of total EU
100
cement production.

50 The main results of the GNR are presented here

and show a significant decoupling between cement
0 production and absolute CO2 emissions over time.
1990 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 According to GNR data, whilst cement production
in the EU28 decreased by 26.9% from 1990 until
2012, the absolute net CO2 emissions decreased
by 38.6% from 1990 until 2012. GNR reports are
available online: http://www.wbcsdcement.org/
GNR-2012/index.html. Releases from cement kilns
originate from the physical and chemical reactions
of the raw materials and from the combustion of
fuels. In addition to CO2 emissions, exhaust gases

24
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

also contain dust, sulphur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (NOx), amongst others. In 2014,
CEMBUREAU continued to collect emissions data
for other key elements emitted during the clinker
burning process including dust, NOx and SO2. The
latest report includes emission values collected
for 300 kilns from the CEMBUREAU member
countries for 2012, compared to 275 the year
before.
Some of key findings from the latest emissions
report (2012 data) can be described as follows:
NOx emissions continue to decrease.
Compared to 2011, 8 additional plants
installed primary abatement measures
across the CEMBUREAU region in 2012.
Dust emissions are increasingly within the
Best Available Technique (BAT) Associated
Emission Level (AEL) ranges.

DUSTEmissions
DUST Emissions- -Continuous
Continuous- -2012
2012
100
90
80
70
60
mg/Nm

50
40
30
20
10
0
0 50 100 150 200 250

NOx Emissions - Continuous

NOx Emissions Continuous -- 2012
2012
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
mg/Nm

1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 50 100 150 200 250

SO2 Emissions - Continuous - 2012

25
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

CEMBUREAU MAIN
ISSUES
In June 2014, a new European Parliament was
elected with a significant presence of Euro-sceptic
parties in the hemicycle. While the traditional
political groups still dominate the discussions, they
do need to take into account a constant challenge
from new players that occupy all parts of the
political spectrum and voice strong concerns by
citizens who suffer from austerity measures taken
by national governments. It is in this challenging
environment that a new European Commission
took office in November 2014. Commission
President Juncker pledged that his number one
priority will be getting Europe grow again and
getting people back to work.

Throughout the year, CEMBUREAU has engaged

with policymakers on the three strategic directions
that were set out for the association: (i) continue
to protect and defend the industry; (ii) promote
concrete as a material of choice in sustainable
construction and (iii) create a compelling case
on the need for a competitive, local cement and
concrete industry.

Climate Change & Energy

The allocation of free allowances has been a

successful policy to prevent carbon leakage.
As long as there are no comparable efforts
undertaken in other major economies, similar
policies as in the current system (including an
improved system of free allocation of allowances
with a better focus) will also be needed after 2020
in order to ensure the competitiveness of Europes
energy-intensive industries. (Climate Action
and Energy Commissioner Miguel Caete in his
hearing before the European Parliament).

26
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
CEMBUREAU provided substantial facts and
figures to demonstrate that the sector continues
to fulfil the carbon leakage criteria, for both
cement and clinker. As a result, the European
Commission confirmed that the cement sector
remained subject to a significant risk of carbon
leakage for the period 2014-2019;
1
The Commissions carbon leakage decision
provided the stability and legal certainty for
the period up to 2020 and thus allowed our
sector to pro-actively reflect and engage on an
appropriate climate change legal framework
for the post-2020 period;
In response to the Commission publication of
the post-2020 Climate and Energy package,
in January 2014, CEMBUREAU elaborated
views on an improved EU-ETS but also
assessed alternative mechanisms such as the
putting in place of a cross-border mechanism
or a consumption charge;
Whatever the system chosen, CEMBUREAU
called upon policymakers to take into account
the long-term planning and investment
cycles of the cement industry which require
a predictable legal framework and a stable
long-term carbon price to foster investments in
low carbon technologies;
If the EU-ETS were to continue as a market-
based system, CEMBUREAU calls for (i) a
performance based free allocation for direct
emissions whereby a multiplication of the
benchmark by a historic activity level (HAL)
which is more closely aligned to recent
production could avoid surplus allocation; (ii)
an elimination of the cross-sectoral correction
factor which avoids full free allocation for
even the best performer; (iii) the elimination of
1
2014/746/EU: Commission Decision of 27 October 2014 determining, pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council, a list of sectors and subsectors which are deemed to be exposed to a significant risk of carbon leakage, for the period
2015 to 2019
2
A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030
3
Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020
outliers in setting benchmarks and (iv) indirect
compensation to supplement direct emission
allowances.
From a standardisation perspective, work
also continued under CEN TC 264 WG 33
(Greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions in energy-
intensive industries). In 2014, the results from
the tests undertaken at two cement plants in
order to determine the uncertainties of the
methods were reviewed, and a draft standard
was prepared for the cement industry.
Energy costs in the cement industry represent
around 30 % of the total operating costs. In its
2
Climate and Energy package of January 2014 ,
the European Commission acknowledged that
there has been a decisive shift in the centre
of gravity of global energy demand towards
emerging economies, notably China and India. At
the same time, households and industrial users
are increasingly concerned by rising energy prices
and price differentials with many of the Unions
trading partners most notably the USA.
CEMBUREAU participated in the consultation
process on the revised energy and environment
3
Guidelines . Throughout the consultation, the
Association emphasised the impact of high
energy process on the global competitiveness
of the industry;
3
Under the finally adopted new Guidelines , the
cement industry is now eligible for national aid
for reduction or exemption from environmental
taxes and is mentioned in Annex III as eligible
for aid in the form of reduction in funding
support for energy from renewables;
27
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

Unfortunately, for carbon-tax related aid

3
measures, the Guidelines include a cross-
reference to the indirect compensation
4
Guidelines under the EU-ETS for which
the cement sector does not qualify. This
creates a substantial market distortion and
CEMBUREAU will continue to engage with the
European Commission to find an appropriate
solution to this issue.
Significant emissions cuts are needed in the
EUs energy and carbon-intensive industries. As
theoretical limits of efficiency are being reached
and process-related emissions are unavoidable in
some sectors, Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS)
may be the only option available to reduce direct
emissions from industrial processes on the scale
needed in the longer term. (DG CLIMA website,
European Commission).
CEMBUREAU closely follows developments
regarding carbon capture in the cement
industry. Research in this field is primarily
being undertaken by the European Cement
Research Academy (ECRA). So far, the first
three phases of the research are complete,
including the literature survey, study on the
technical and financial aspects of Carbon
Capture (CC) and laboratory scale research.
The project has now entered Phase IV, namely
preparing for a pilot plant. In addition, ECRA
held the first Chair event at the University of
Mons (Belgium) in November 2014, which
allowed them to present the work to date.
During this important event, the European
Commission was also invited to set the scene
surrounding CCS and Carbon Capture &
Utilization (CCU) from the perspective of its
research and funding strategy.
Resources & Processes
According to figures from the European
Commission, each person in todays EU consumes
15 tonnes of materials annually while generating
5 tonnes of waste, with half going to landfill.
Today, 32% of cement kiln energy in the
European Union is provided by alternative
fuels, 8.7% of these fuels originate from
biomass (such as animal meal, waste wood,
sewage sludge and sawdust) and 25.6%
from other waste (e.g. waste tyres, waste oil,
solvents). By 2050, 60% of kiln energy could
be provided by alternative fuels, leading to a
27% reduction in fuel CO2 emissions;
CEMBUREAU clarified the notion of co-
processing by emphasising that it is a
combined operation of energy recovery and
material recycling;
A joint position paper on this combined operation
has been published with the European Tyre &
Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA),
emphasising that around 1.1 million tonnes of
used tyres are sent to cement kilns annually
where the high calorific value of the rubber is
used to substitute primary fuels and the mineral
fraction of the tyre (mainly iron and silica) as a
substitute of the raw materials.
Together with its partners within the Non-
Energy Extractive Industries Panel (NEEIP),
CEMBUREAU presented to the European
Commission a lead resource efficiency
indicator based on better supply, use and
re-use of resources as an alternative to a
resource efficiency target proposed by the
Commission which supported weight-based
Raw Material Consumption.

The EU is setting the scene for a climate

change policy framework that will need
to drive competitiveness of European
industry while providing the necessary
incentives to further reduce emissions.
With our proven track record on emission
reduction and views on future efforts as
expressed in our Roadmap, we provide an
essential contribution to this debate.

Vincent Mages &

Francisco Javier Merle Pons
Working Group Climate Change & Energy
co-chairs

3
Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020
4
Guidelines on certain State aid measures in the context of the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme post 2012

28
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

The infographic shown below has been

developed to demonstrate how such combined
energy recovery and material recycling
operation is at the heart of the circular
economy;

s
In on
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CEMBUREAU continued to monitor In response to the new Clean Air Policy package
developments regarding the revision of both the for Europe, adopted by the Commission in
Waste Treatment Best Available Techniques December 2013, CEMBUREAU called for a
(BAT) Reference Document (BREF) and the fair burden-sharing between sectors, including
Waste Incineration BREF. Regarding the road transport and agriculture, when setting
Waste Treatment BREF, the work was primarily new air quality objectives for the period up
undertaken by the European Association for to 2030. The Association also reminded
co-processing (Eucopro). In 2014, a data policymakers to ensure consistency with
collection was launched by the European existing industrial emissions legislation and
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control to avoid stricter national emission ceilings
Bureau (EIPPCB) to gather information from for a series of pollutants, including SO2 and
waste treatment plants regarding techniques NOX, that would go beyond what is technically
and key environmental issues. For the Waste feasible.
Incineration BREF, CEMBUREAU submitted
comments to the proposals raised by the
EIPPCB for the revised BREF.

29
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

Mercury is present in the raw materials
and in the fuel released in the cement
combustion process. CEMBUREAU has
been strongly involved in the UNEP Global
Mercury Partnership Advisory Group that
focuses on how to protect human health and
the global environment from the release of
mercury and its compounds. The Minamata
Convention has now obtained 128 signatories
and 12 ratifications since its adoption and
UNEP confirmed that it would be allocating
US$141 million over the next four years for
implementation of the Convention, along with
the private sector. CEMBUREAU, on behalf
of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI),
had the opportunity of presenting to the UNEP
Global Mercury Partnership Advisory Group
the work of the Cement Partnership to date.
ecosystems. At EU level, the focus remained
on trying to identify ways of achieving a no net
loss of biodiversity. Against this background
a public consultation was launched to which
CEMBUREAU responded, outlining the
importance of ensuring that all sectors which
have an impact on biodiversity and ecosystems,
such as agriculture and forestry, are covered
by any such initiative. CEMBUREAU also
strengthened its collaboration with key
stakeholders, including International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Birdlife
International. In this respect, the Association
was delighted to support the IUCN guide for
managing biodiversity in cement & aggregates
sector launched during the summer.

CEMBUREAU continues to support its

members in the area of innovation funding
and maintains its involvement in SPIRE
(Sustainable Process Industry through
Resource and Energy Efficiency) which is

a Public Private Partnership launched as

With the Circular Economy package hitting
part of the Horizon 2020 Programme and
the headlines in mid 2014, the cement and
representing 8 different industrial sectors. In
concrete industry has worked together on
2014, CEMBUREAU worked together with
defining exactly how the sector applies
the cement companies which are members of
resource efficiency principles throughout
SPIRE, in order to undertake the preparatory
its supply chain. Although the new
work to define priority topics for the next round
European Commission has now withdrawn
of SPIRE calls for project proposals in 2015. 5
the Circular Economy package , the work
undertaken by CEMBUREAU will continue
Biodiversity remained an important topic
to prove useful for ongoing discussions
for the cement industry, particularly given
in Brussels, ahead of a reformulated and
the positive contribution of the sector to
larger circular economy proposal expected
biodiversity management and conservation
in 2015.
through rehabilitated quarries. Within the
sector itself, the CEMBUREAU members
Rob van der Meer & Markus Rentsch
agreed upon a series of indicators which would
Working Group Resources & Processes
allow the cement industry to demonstrate the
co-chairs
positive impact which it has on biodiversity and

5
Moving towards a Circular Economy (July 2014)

30
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Health & Safety
The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU allows
management and social partners to enter
into a social dialogue agreement. In 2006, 15
industry sectors, jointly representing more than
2 million employees and exceeding EUR 250 bn
turnover, have entered into a European Social
Dialogue Agreement (ESDA) on workers health
protection through the good handling and use
of crystalline silica and products containing it.
Under the agreement, social partners proceed
to risk assessments of the potential exposure to
crystalline silica in the workplace and additional
measures are taken such as dust exposure
monitoring, training and health surveillance
through their participation in Nepsi.
CEMBUREAU is proud to report that, thanks to
the efforts of its members, 100% reporting of
the identified sites has been achieved, 97.8%
of employees potentially exposed to Respirable
Crystalline Silica (RCS) are covered by a risk
assessment and an improvement was seen
in relation to all Key Performance Indicators
(KPI).
Based on the strong expertise in the SDA
with a preventive approach to RCS exposure,
CEMBUREAU has closely followed the
European Commissions initiative to issue
legislation on RCS and bring it under the
Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive6 (CMD),
in spite of the fact that it is not classified as a
carcinogen. If legislation were to be adopted
on RCS, the Chemical Agents at Work
Directive7 (CAD) might be a more appropriate
tool, be it that any attempt to legislate ignores
the good functioning of the SDA. At this point
in time, all policy options seem to be open,
including a merge of both Directives and no
new legislation. CEMBUREAU will continue
monitoring these developments.
A Comprehensive Health Risk Study (CHRS)
was launched by CEMBUREAU in 2005 with
the aim of identifying any potential health
concerns around the exposure of cement
6
Directive 2004/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the protection of workers from the risks related
to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work
7
Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents
at work
8
Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and
packaging of substances and mixtures
workers to cement containing dust. In 2014,
GreenFacts was commissioned to update the
summaries produced in 2012, allowing for
cement companies to communicate internally
to their workers the result of the CHRS. The
various components of the CHRS include
an updated survey of the literature on the
question, a toxicological study carried out in two
phases, one involving in-vitro tests, the other
ex-vivo tests and exposure measurements
in the construction industry. The European
Prospective Lung Function Monitoring Study
was completed in 2014 and, in a next step,
CEMBUREAU will decide on the appropriate
way for cement companies to communicate
the results to their workers.
Safety Data sheets: three safety data sheets
currently exist for the cement industry, covering
common cements, Portland cement clinker and
flue dust. The first two were updated in 2014 in
order to bring them in line with the requirements
imposed by European legislation according to
which both substances and mixtures can only
be classified, labelled and packaged under the
Classification, Labelling and Packaging8 (CLP)
of substances and mixtures Regulation as of
1 June 2015.
For several years now, the cement
industry has been proactive in preventing
worker exposure to Respirable Crystalline
Silica (RCS). This work is now being
used as part of the discussions around
the potential inclusion of RCS under the
Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive.
Several options remain on the table and
CEMBUREAU will continue to play an
active part in the debate, emphasising that
a voluntary approach can lead to tangible
and positive results for social partners.
Martin Schneider & Stefano Gardi
Working Group Health & Safety co-chairs
31
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Markets & Products
According to the European Commissions
Communication on resource efficiency in the
building sector:
The construction sector is most capable of
reacting quickly to underpin the re-launch
of the economy and is not exposed to
delocalisation;
There is a lack of reliable, comparable
and affordable data, methods and tools on
which the operators in the supply chain can
analyse and benchmark the environmental
performance of different building solutions;
Construction and demolition waste makes
up a third of total waste in the EU. A large
majority of Construction and Demolition
Waste (CDW) is recyclable but with the
exception of a few Member States recycling
up to 90%, the average recovery for EU 27
is just below 50%;
Concrete is the most used material in
buildings and its recycling reduces natural
resource depletion and landfilling of
waste. Concrete can often be recycled at
demolition or construction sites close to
urban areas where it will be reused thereby
reducing transport demand with savings in
cost and related emissions.
The Concrete Initiatives achievements:
Successful launch of The Concrete Initiative
at two well-attended events with policymakers
in Brussels (May 2014) and MEPs in
Strasbourg (November 2014) generated a real
interest and open dialogue on the essential
contribution of concrete to the economic,
social and environmental pillar of sustainable
construction;
In addition to events and thematic lunches
(see events section p.36), a website, video
and blog were developed to encourage key
stakeholders to work with us;
Strong messages were developed and
conveyed to policymakers positioning concrete
as an affordable material of choice to build
durable, energy-efficient (through thermal
mass) and safe houses and infrastructure of
tomorrow.
A thematic lunch on recycling of concrete
was held where policymakers had a unique
opportunity to learn first-hand from industry
specialists how an appropriate policy
framework could foster the collection of
32
construction and demolition waste and how a
full life-cycle approach to buildings contributes
to putting concrete at the heart of a resource-
efficient, circular economy.
Standardisation: CEMBUREAU has liaison
status under the European Committee for
Standardisation (CEN) and is involved in
- CEN Technical Committee (TC) 51 (Cement
and building limes): revision of standard
EN 197-1 Composition, specifications and
conformity criteria for common cements,
with a view to including implementation
of the Construction Products Regulation,
standardising certain new types of ternary
cements (CEM II/C-M and CEM VI
[composite cement] composed of clinker,
blastfurnace slag, limestone, silicious fly
ash and natural pozzolana) and renaming
of CEM V cements to slag-pozzolanic
cements;
- Drafting of Product Category Rules (PCR)
for Environmental Product Declarations
(EPDs) for cement;
- CEN/TC 104 (Concrete and related
products), the work centred on the
revision of EN 206-1 (Concrete Part 1:
Specification, performance, production and
conformity);
- CEN/TC 350 Sustainability of Construction
Works, several issues were tackled,
including the development of a Framework
Standard for the Sustainability Assessment
of Civil Engineering Works (preliminary work
item), and discussion on the possibility of
incorporating new environmental indicators
within the CEN/TC 350 standards.
Responsible sourcing: as part of the European
Concrete Platform (ECP), CEMBUREAU
signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with the World Business Council for
Sustainable Developments (WBCSD) Cement
Sustainability Initiative (CSI), confirming
its involvement in the development of a
Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Concrete.
In 2014, the task focused upon defining the
necessary conditions and developing a series
of criteria.
The Sustainable Construction glossary,
produced in collaboration with the Architects
Council of Europe and the European Economic
and Social Committee, has been revised by
the ECP. The translations are currently being
updated in order to take into consideration
improvements to the terms and definitions. All
versions are due to be completed in 2015.
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

In terms of fire safety, technical issues

The launch of The Concrete Initiative
relating specifically to concrete continued to
in May 2014 opened the door to the
be managed under the ECP. From a more
development of a real dialogue with the
advocacy oriented perspective, the work
European Institutions on sustainable
was led by Fire Safe Europe (FSEU), which
concrete construction as a driver for
gathers together various construction product
growth in Europe. By working together
producers. Taking advantage of the 2014
with the concrete sector, we are now
elections in the European Parliament, FSEU
in a position to outline with one voice
invited those standing for (re)election to pledge
the significant role concrete can play
for a Fire Safe Europe meaning that, in the
in the development of local economies
event they were elected, they would advocate
and sustainable housing, buildings
in favour of fire safety at EU level. Following
and infrastructure. Messages have
the elections, FSEU continued to maintain
been agreed and a valuable network
momentum by following up with elected
of stakeholders established. An open
supporters to push for an own initiative report
dialogue on policy development has
from the European Parliament on fire safety.
commenced which can be built on in the
years to come to ensure that sustainable
construction remains at the heart of
economic activity in Europe into the
future

Colm Bannon & Massimo Paris

Working Group Markets & Products co-chairs

our working group structure

A B C D
Climate Change Resources Health Markets
& Energy & Processes & Safety & Products
TASK FORCES TASK FORCES TASK FORCES TASK FORCES

Carbon Leakage BREF Revision Comprehensive Product Standards

Health Risk Study and Regulations
CEN TC 264 WG33 Biodiversity
Mirror Group REACH SDS C&L Sustainable
Waste RCS Construction
2050 Low Carbon
Economy Roadmap Resource Efficiency
& Fiscal Issues
ETS Future

The Main Issues section covers just the key areas of CEMBUREAUs work in 2014.
The Association continued to work on many other issues throughout the year.

It should also be noted that the Members and company representatives active with the
CEMBUREAU Working Groups play an invaluable role in ensuring the success of the
Association and the best possible outcome, and it is to them that we extend our thanks.

For more information on specific issues dealt with by CEMBUREAU,

please e-mail aj.johnson@cembureau.eu.

33
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
ENERGY
CemProspects
On 27 & 28 October, the 2014 edition of the
CemProspects (Energy Markets Prospects
Conference) organised by Cimeurope, was held in
Istanbul. Delegates from 20 countries participated
in the conference. As in previous years the coal
and petcoke markets were covered, as well as
freights and alternative fuels.
34
The Energy Market 2014
Bear market for the energy complex.
The whole energy complex plummeted in
2014, although with petcoke only seeing a fairly
modest decline. The main reasons behind this
include the massive trend in global deflation, a
strengthening US dollar and slower growth in
China. Metallurgical coal and iron ore prices fell
by 50% in 2014, affecting demand and Freight on
Board (FOB) prices for US West Coast petcoke.
The freight market has weakened since mid 2014,
fundamentally due to an increase in the supply of
new vessels, but mainly following the weakening
Chinese economy. Technical analysis of the freight
market indicated a heavy retracement downwards
already in September. In the event that everything
else remains the same, lower freight rates tend
to have a positive impact on FOB prices for
commodities, so the sharply lower freights have
hidden the worsening global economy for non-
agriculture commodities. Petcoke prices on an
FOB basis are virtually always the inverse of
freight rates, and if freight rates had remained
unchanged since mid 2014, the FOB price for
petcoke would probably be more or less US$5-8
below current levels.
The freight market has fallen to close to the very
strong long-term support of 650 on the Baltic Dry
Index (BDI), in line with technical analysis. It is
unlikely that this level will be broken, although the
record strength of the US dollar means that some
ship owners will be running at a profit, even at this
level. The level has been tested 5 times since the
1980ies and always held up, the main reason being
that at this level, ship owners see no option other
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
than to lay up vessels, hot lay up or cold lay up,
which in any case decreases the operating fleet.
The main prediction suggests that freights will test
the 650 BDI level but not break it. Furthermore, Q1
is historically a very weak quarter.
Natural gas prices have declined from US$19
C&F Asia per million Btu to US$10-11 C&F. The
low prices will have a negative impact on demand
for other energy forms, including steam coal and
petcoke. C&F prices Asia for US LNG are close
to current domestic prices for natural gas, which
reduces US export volumes and thereby presses
down US demand for steam coal. Although natural
gas is not a real competitor against petcoke, it is
indirectly, due to its interaction with steam coal.
Lower international coal prices directly affect
petcoke prices.
Coal prices saw a temporary low at US$55 FOB
per 6 000 kcal/kg in beginning of January 2015,
but the steam coal market has recovered so far
everything indicates that the rally is a dead cat
bounce, as nothing fundamental nor technical has
changed. Technical analysis of the steam coal has
shown, since the middle of the year 2014 that if
and when the market were to break the important
level of US$72, there was no support level before
US$57-59.
The petcoke market seasonally tends to bottom
out in Q4. This is due to several reasons such as
the liquidation of stocks by refineries, with most
preferring not to have any inventories for tax
purposes. Consumers similarly try to minimise
stocks, for capital reasons. From 2011 to 2014
the market has risen by 10-15% from the end of
Q4 until the end of Q1, the only exception was in
2014, when the market only peaked at the middle-
end of Q2. In 2014 the markets oscillated around
the pivotal level of US$60 FOB US Gulf - in a way,
the down spread in Q4 is replaced by a similar up
spread in Q1.The market, however, seems to have
less momentum in 2015 compared to previous
years, which can be explained by the overall
deflation trends, combined with lower demand from
China, pending over supplies from the two Aramco
units, and lower than expected Egyptian imports
than previously predicted. Petcoke demand in
the Atlantic will remain unchanged at best, with
Europe sluggish. Petcoke consumption is likely to
fall by 2-3%, a function of an increase in the use
of alternative fuels and lower construction activity
in general. The outlook for Turkey is mitigated for
2015. The main locomotive for the petcoke trade
is India. The low freight rate of down to US$26
from US Gulf to India, from above US$43+ at the
highs of the year, has offered the main support for
the petcoke market. Although FOB petcoke prices
have declined from a high of US$65 US Gulf in
Q2 of 2014 (for high sulphur petcoke to around
US$52 end of Q4), they have been much more
resilient compared to other energy forms. Current
petcoke prices are very high compared to all other
energy commodities, such as crude oil, LNG and
steam coal. Historically, whenever crude oil and
coal have been priced at current prices, petcoke
prices FOB US Gulf have been below US$35. Mid
sulphur petcoke from Venezuela has fallen back to
US$60-65, down from US$75-77 FOB at the peaks
from the end of Q2. This is partly due to improved
supply and partly due to many consumers trying to
use higher sulphur petcoke. The price discrepancy
has been maintained despite record low steam coal
prices, with in fact around the same C&F prices
pro rata for steam coal as for petcoke. Demand
in the Atlantic is expected to remain more or less
the same in 2015, with Egyptian imports balanced
by European consumption which continues to
fall. The current outlook for high sulphur petcoke
indicates a 2015 decline for petcoke FOB prices in
Q2 and Q3, but a recovery in Q4. For mid sulphur
petcoke, the price pressure is more pronounced
with improved supplies from Venezuela, US Gulf
mid sulphur petcoke losing out to Asian markets,
and with US West Coast petcoke becoming more
competitive. With increasing Indian demand from
Q4, prices are expected to remain balanced or
even increase, although this will depend on the
steam coal market. Given other energy markets,
high sulphur petcoke should be at US$40-45
FOB US Gulf and mid sulphur petcoke at US$55,
meaning a downside of US$5-10 per tonne.
35
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

EVENTS

Under the auspices of the 2014 edition of Green

THE CONCRETE INITIATIVE Week, entitled Circular economy saving
resources, creating job, CEMBUREAU organized
a plant visit in order to illustrate and educate key
26 NOVEMBER 2014 stakeholders at EU level on how waste is recovered
and recycled in the cement manufacturing
process. The tour commenced with a visit to
Recyfuel, a waste treatment facility located in the
eastern part of Belgium. The primary goal was to
demonstrate how waste is treated prior to being
delivered to cement plant for use as an alternative
fuel. In the afternoon, the visit continued at a
HeidelbergCement plant located in Maastricht,
DINNER the Netherlands. Here, a detailed explanation was
provided on how the cement industry makes the
Kindly hosted by MEP Julie Girling
most of energy recovery and material recycling
(i.e. co-processing) in the cement manufacturing
process. In addition, participants had the unique
When? opportunity of visiting a restored quarry and
26 November 2014 at 18.00
Where?
biodiversity conservation project.
European Parliament, Strasbourg - Room C2.1
What to expect?
Keynote speech from MEP Julie Girling Given the focus dedicated to the sustainable
The Concrete Initiative manifesto and publication revealing
some surprising facts, figures and examples and the contribution construction project, events in 2014 related
of concrete to the three pillars of sustainability
Networking dinner
primarily to The Concrete Initiative. To kick off the
To register please contact i.perova@cembureau.eu by 14 November 2014 debate, an event was held in Brussels (27 March
2014) with key stakeholders in order to identify
their concerns relating to sustainable construction,
as well as to present some of the initial ideas under
discussion within The Concrete Initiative, and to
identify whether it was on the right track. Bringing
together representatives from the European
institutions, the wider construction industry, NGOs
and civil society, the debate focused primarily on
the challenges which will need to be tackled in the
years to come.

36
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014
Following on from this, The Concrete Initiative was
officially launched at Autoworld (Brussels) on 27
May 2014. With Jacki Davies in the moderator seat,
a debate was held amongst key representatives
from the European Commission, the European
Fire Fighters Unions Alliance, OECD, the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology and an architect.
A wide ranging series of themes were debated,
including shifting towards a performance-based
construction sector, which encompasses whole
life performance, and the importance of a local
industry to Europes economy. The Concrete
Initiative also took this opportunity of unveiling its
film which highlights the value of concrete, and the
sector as a whole.
During the second half of the year, The Concrete
Initiative adopted a more focused approach, and in
October 2014 it held its first thematic lunch covering
the issue of recycling concrete construction and
demolition waste. This lunch came at a perfect
time, given the fact that recycling is high up on the
political agenda further to the publication in July
2014 of the European Communication on resource
1
efficiency opportunities in the building sector . The
role of a thematic lunch is to launch a real debate
between technical experts and policymakers
working directly on relevant legislation. By
ensuring that the right people were around the
table, the debate enabled an open discussion on
what works, what does not and what could be the
potential solutions. As such, those invited to the
lunch included representatives from the European
Commission, the Dutch Permanent representation
to the EU, the European Demolition Association,
and industry experts. Plenty of food for thought
came out of this debate and the discussions will
now continue as the issue evolves. Given the very
positive feedback on this model, The Concrete
Initiative will continue to organise such thematic
events.
1
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions on resource efficiency opportunities in the building sector. COM(2014) 445
Given that, at the time of the launch event, elections
were being held across the EU for the new European
Parliament, The Concrete Initiative identified the
need to organise a dedicated networking event in
November 2014 with the newly elected Members
of the European Parliament. Thanks to the efforts
of the CEMBUREAU Members, most notably
the Members Plenary Group and the Senior
Advisory Group, a large number of MEPs and
MEP assistants joined The Concrete Initiative for
dinner in the Strasbourg building of the European
Parliament. Although the primary focus of this
event was to get to know and network with the new
MEPs, The Concrete Initiative had the opportunity
of providing an overview of the challenges facing
modern society to which concrete can provide
a positive contribution. Some of the challenges
highlighted include the fact that European citizens
need safe, affordable and resilient housing and
infrastructure. In addition, growth and jobs needs
to be stimulated in order to navigate Europe out
of the current crisis. Finally, energy efficiency and
low carbon solutions are key if the sector is to
reduce its impact on the environment.
Several events are already in the pipeline for 2015,
both as CEMBUREAU and The Concrete Initiative,
without forgetting the bi-annual European Minerals
Day. For more information on what the Concrete
Initiative up to, please visit
www.cembureau.eu
www.theconcreteinitiative.eu
www.mineralsday.eu
Or follow us on twitter!
@cembureau
@concretedialogue
37
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

about cembureau
Meet the team!

Chief Executive
Koen Coppenholle
economic studies Personal Assistant & HR Manager: energy
& statistics Marie-Hlne Troger department
Manager: Logistics & Real Estate Manager: Director:
Alessandro Sciamarelli Noureddine Chafki Sven Rydahl (Cimeurope)

Assistant:
Mireille Tonnet

industrial policy monitoring & research communications

department department department
Deputy Chief Executive / Director: Manager: Director:
Claude Lora Jean-Baptiste Gomes de Almeida Jessica Johnson
Morais
Personal Assistant: Manager:
Cathy Roeland Officer: Patricia Moreaux
Stella Kirabo
Environment & Resources Manager: Officer:
Vagner Maringolo Assistant (information services): Inna Perova
Latifa Ben Yamoun
Sustainable Construction Manager:
Karl Downey

Health & Safety Officer:

Josphine Reinaud

Assistant:
Sylvianne Liesen

38
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

our board members*

President P. Hoddinott
Vice-President D. Gauthier

Full Members Permanent Alternates

Austria T. Spannagl

Belgium R. Khler F. Doneg

Bulgaria S. Schmidt A. Chakmakov

Czech Republic J. Hrozek J. Chmela

Denmark R. Nicolini M.-L. Braad

Estonia M. Einstein

Finland J. Mintern K. Matikainen

France P. Casanova J.-Y. Le Dreff

Germany G. Hirth C. Knell

Greece S. Baltzis P. Deleplanque

Hungary J. Szarkndi P. Stapfer

Ireland O. Mahon S. Lynch

Italy M. Buzzi F. Pedetta

Latvia I. Madridejos Fernandez G. Russell

Lithuania J.A. Mituzas A. Zaremba

Luxembourg J.-P. Proth D. Beese

Netherlands A. Jacquemart R. van der Meer

Norway G. Syvertsen P. Brevik

Poland A. Balcerek F. Tonetti

Portugal L. Fernandes G. Salazar Leite

Romania M. Rohan F. Petry

Slovenia T. Vuk

Spain I. Miranda Fernandez J. Wagner

Sweden J. Gnge G. Brantenberg

Switzerland U. Sandmeier K. Wenger

Turkey M. Tzn

United Kingdom M.J. Wild C. Law

Members Ex Officio

CEMBUREAU K. Coppenholle

CEMBUREAU C. Lora

* Situation on 15 May 2015

39
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

our liaison committee of the

cement industries in the eu members*
President A. Chakmakov
Vice-President M.J. Wild

Full Members Permanent Alternates

Austria T. Spannagl

Belgium R. Khler F. Doneg

Bulgaria S. Schmidt

Czech Republic J. Hrozek J. Chmela

Denmark R. Nicolini M.-L. Braad

Estonia M. Einstein

Finland J. Mintern K. Matikainen

France P. Casanova J.-Y. Le Dreff

Germany C. Knell G. Hirth

Greece S. Baltzis P. Deleplanque

Hungary J. Szarkndi P. Stapfer

Ireland O. Mahon S. Lynch

Italy M. Buzzi

Latvia G. Russell J. Muguiro

Lithuania J.A. Mituzas A. Zaremba

Luxembourg J.-P. Proth D. Beese

Netherlands A. Jacquemart R. van der Meer

Poland A. Balcerek F. Tonetti

Portugal G. Salazar Leite L. Menezes

Romania M. Rohan F. Petry

Slovenia T. Vuk

Spain J. Ruiz de Haro I. Miranda Fernandez

Sweden J. Gnge G. Brantenberg

United Kingdom M.J. Wild C. Law

Members Ex Officio

CEMBUREAU K. Coppenholle

CEMBUREAU C. Lora

* Situation on 15 May 2015

40
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

MEMBERS Lithuania: Akmenes Cementas AB

Austria: VZ Vereinigung der sterreichischen Zementindustrie Luxembourg: CIMALUX s.a.

(Association to the Austrian Cement Industry)
Netherlands: ENCI BV - Eerste Nederlandse Cement Industry
Belgium: Febelcem Fdration de lIndustrie Cimentire Belge
Norway: Norcem A.S.
a.s.b.l. (Association of the Belgian Cement Industry)
Poland: PCA Stowarzyszenie Producentw Cementu
Bulgaria: BACI Bulgarian Association of Cement Industry
(The Polish Cement Association)
Czech Republic: Svaz vrobcu cementu CR (Czech Cement
Portugal: ATIC Associao Tcnica da Indstria de Cimento
Association)
(Technical Association of the Cement Industry)
Denmark: Aalborg Portland A/S
Romania: CIROM Employers Organisation in Cement Industry
Estonia: KNC AS Kunda Nordic Tsement (Kunda Nordic Cement and other Mineral Products for Construction in Romania
Corporation)
Slovenia: SLOCEM Slovenian Cement Producers Association
Finland: Finnsementti Oy
Spain: Oficemen Agrupacin de Fabricantes de Cemento de
France: SFIC Syndicat Franais de lIndustrie Cimentire Espaa (Association of Spanish Cement Producers)
(Association of the French Cement Industry)
Sweden: Cementa AB
Germany: VDZ Verein Deutscher Zementwerke e.V. (German
Switzerland: cemsuisse
Cement Works Association)
Turkey: TMb Trkiye imento Mstahsilleri Birligi (TCMA -
Greece: HCIA Hellenic Cement Industry Association
Turkish Cement Manufacturers Association)
Hungary: MCSZ Magyar Cement-, Beton- s Mszipari
United Kingdom: MPA Minerals Products Association - Cement
Szvetzg (Hungarian Cement, Concrete and Lime Association)

Ireland: Cement Manufacturers Ireland

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Italy: AITEC Associazione Italiana Tecnico Economica del
Cemento (Italian Technical and Economic Association of Cement) Croatia: Croatia Cement

Latvia: CEMEX LATVIA Serbia: Cementna Industrija Srbije (Serbian Cement Industry
Association)

For more information about our Members, please see

http://www.cembureau.eu/about-cembureau/members

41
 ACTIVITY REPORT 2014

Abbreviations glossary
AEL Associated Emission Level

BAT Best Available Techniques

BREF Best Available Techniques Reference Document

CAD Chemical Agents at Work Directive

CC Carbon Capture

CCS Carbon Capture and Storage

CCU Carbon Capture and Utilization

CDW Construction and Demilition Waste

CEN European Committee for Standardisation

CHRS Comprehensive Health Risk Study

CLP Classification, Labelling & Packaging

CMD Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive

CSI Cement Sustainability Initiative

EPDs Environmental Product Declarations

EU-ETS EU Emissions Trading Scheme

FED Federal Reserve System

FOB Freight on Board

FSEU Fire Safe Europe

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GHG Greenhouse Gas

GNR Getting the Numbers Right

HAL Historic Activity Level

IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature

KPI Key Performance Indicators

MEPs Members of the European Parliament

NEEIP Non-Energy Extractive Industry Panel

NEPSI The European Network for Silica

PCR Product Category Rules

RCS Respirable Crystalline Silica

REACH Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals

SDA Social Dialogue Agreement

SPIRE Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

WBCSD-CSI World Business Council for Sustainable Development-Cement Sustainability Initiative

42
 Copyright: CEMBUREAU
N Editeur: D/2015/5457/May

All rights reserved. No part of this report

may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any
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recording or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.

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The European Cement Association

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Tel.: + 32 2 234 10 11
secretariat@cembureau.eu
www.cembureau.eu

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Photographs:
Thanks to:
Graphic Concrete Ltd
IStockphoto.com
Corvi from IStockphoto
Claus Bering, photographer