Report on Environmental Impact
Assessment for Cement manufactured incountries around the world

June 2019
Taiheiyo Cement Corporation2.1Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world1.

General1.1

Assessment implementors

Affiliated institution: Taiheiyo Cement Corporation, Central Research Laboratory
Name: Yusuke Kirino, Seiichi HoshinoContact: yusuke_kirino@taiheiyo-cement.co.jp

1.2

Report creation dateJune 4, 20192.

Goal of the study

2.1

Reasons for carrying out the study

Use LCA to assess the environmental impact of processes, from raw material procurement tomanufacturing, for cement manufactured around the world and ascertain critical impact categories.

2.2

Intended applications

To ascertain critical impact categories related to processes, from raw material procurement tomanufacturing, for cement manufactured around the world and provide the information for design
improvement.

3.

Scope of the study

3.1

Study subjects and specifications

The study assessed 1ton of average cement manufactured in countries around the world.
Furthermore, the scope of this survey includes both "pure" Portland cement and blended cements
containing by-products or natural raw materials, and is based on the weighted average for eachcountry.

3.2

Functions and functional units

Cement is a binder that functions by hardening when reacting to water. Cement is mainly used as araw material for concrete that is used in construction projects. The compressive strength ofcommercially available cement at 28-day (based on ISO 679:2009) is approximately 35-60N/mm2.
We used cement 1ton as the function unit for this assessment, which is in line with customary
practice.

3.3

System boundaries

Excavating natural raw materials, cement manufacturing, and contribution to reductions by the useof wastes in manufacturing processes. (Fig. 3.3-1)

2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

System boundary

By-products

MiningW astes

Contribution toemission reduction

Cement production
Incineration/Landfill
Concrete production
Construction

Use
Demolition
Recycling

Landfill

Fig. 3.3-1 Major cement product systems and system boundaries

3.4

Special notes (excluded processes, matters, etc.)

As for the definition of wastes and by-products, of those products not classified as the main
product, objects applicable to the Act on Waste Management and Public Cleansing are defined aswastes and objects not applicable are defined as by-products. Specific applicable items are indicatedin Chapter 4.1.
Scope2 CO2 emissions and transport processes were not assessed due to insufficient data. With
cement manufacturing, generally Scope1 CO2 emissions are larger1). Furthermore, due to the lowunit price per product weight, long-distance transport is often not conducted.
Concrete manufacturing and structure construction, use, and demolition processes were also
eliminated from the scope of this survey. The environmental impact of concrete manufacturing andstructure construction and use are not significant2). Conversely, in Japan, 99.3% of waste concrete
generated during the structure demolition process is recycled3). However, overseas, this is not
sufficiently recycled and it is possible this has a significant environmental impact.

2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

4.

Inventory analysis

4.1

Inventory data

For cement foreground data, we used "Getting the Numbers Right (GNR)4) published by theWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Cement Sustainability Initiative(CSI) and Japan Cement Association data from 20165). For cement produced in countries other thanJapan, we conducted the following calculations using additive and mineral admixture data after
calculating data for clinker, an intermediate product. We assumed the volume of natural raw material
used to be 1500kg/t. It is noted that the volume of wastes used in countries other than Japan isminor6). However, there is no published data, we used the rate of alternative raw materials (3.6%)
indicated in the Heidelberg Cement Sustainability report as a flat rate for countries other than Japan.
We assumed there was no fossil fuel source other than coal and calculated the volume of coal usedby dividing the product of the specific heat consumption and conventional fossil fuel rate by the low
calorific value of bituminous coal7). For NOX, SOX, and dust emissions volumes for countries otherthan Japan, we used the average value published in the CSR Report by the WBCSD CSI core
members as a flat rate. The impact on results by using the same value is estimated to be insignificant,because the variation coefficient for NOX, the substance with the most significant environmental
impact, was relatively small at 0.25. Cement data is calculated based on clinker data and the volumeof gypsum and mineral admixture used. Only blast furnace slag and fly ash were treated as
by-products, and other mineral admixture and gypsum were assumed to be natural resources.
Background data on mining of natural raw materials was excluded from the scope of evaluation
because sufficient data could not be collected.

4.2

Items in the inventory analysis and the results

Table 4.2-1 shows analyzed items and results of inventory analysis for cement manufactured
overseas.

2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

Table 4.2-1. LCI analysis result of cement (unit (kg/t))
JapanIndia

Naturalraw materials

1123

1183

1258

Coal

80

87

CO2651

NOx

Philippines Thailand

USA

BrazilGermany

Egypt

Ref. No.

1422

1454

1359

1421

1445

4, 5, E

90

98

116

87

43

125

4, 5, E

616

609

707

766

671

578

773

4, 5

1.240

1.089

1.029

1.222

1.315

1.171

1.237

1.288

SOx

0.065

0.229

0.216

0.257

0.276

0.246

0.260

0.271

PM

0.026

0.047

0.045

0.053

0.057

0.051

0.054

0.056

Waste use

22942404751454850

Resource
comsumption

Emission

Avoided emission

4, 5, E4, 5, E

E： Inventory data is estimated by the method described in the text.

2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

5.

Impact assessment

5.1

Assessment steps and impact categories

For the impact assessment, we used the LIME3, Life-cycle Impact Assessment Method based on
Endpoint modeling, to conduct a damage assessment and an integrated assessment. Impact
categories applicable to each assessment are shown in Table 5.1-1. Furthermore, for the LIME3assessment, we used the rebate rate of 3% to calculate the damage coefficient for social assets.
We treated wastes and by-products as follows in the evaluations. Wastes that are alternatives to
raw materials are treated as having contributed to reductions since environmental load that would
have resulted from the landfill disposal of substances is avoided thanks to their use in cement.
Wastes that are alternative energy source are treated as having avoided the CO2 emissions that would
have resulted from incineration outside the cement plant thanks to their use by the cement plant.
Using published calculation methods4), that portion of CO2 emissions is subtracted from the CO2emissions produced at the time of cement production (in other words, we used the net CO2 emission
intensity). Since it is assumed that by-products are not intended to be disposed but instead will bedistributed to the market as products of value, we did not consider the contribution to reductions
resulting from landfill avoidance. The method of allocating the environmental load of a main
product to by-products is defined in ISO14044. However, due to insufficient data provision fromsuppliers, here we assume there is no environmental load from by-products and indirectly reflect
only the reduction in environmental load attributable to reductions in natural resource consumption.

Table 5.1-1. Applicable environmental impact categories and assessment steps
Damage assessment
Climate change✓

Air pollution✓

Photochemical oxidants✓

Water resource consumption
Land use✓

Resource consumption (fossil fuelsand mineral resources)
Forest resource consumption✓Wastes

Weighting
IF1
IF2

✓

2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

5.2

Impact assessment results

5.2.1

Damage assessment

The results of impact assessments for the four areas subject to protection (Breakdown bysubstance) are shown in Figure 5.2-1 to 5.2-4. With human health and biodiversity, the impact ofCO2 emissions was largest in all countries. In India and Thailand, the impact of NOx on humanhealth was also significant. In the case of the impact on social assets, coal consumption wassignificant in the Philippines and Egypt while in Japan, USA, and Germany, the impact of reduction
contributions due to the use of wastes was significant. In the case of the impact on primaryproduction, limestone and coal consumption was significant and in Japan the impact of reduction
contributions due to the use of wastes was also significant. As for the impact on human health andsocial assets, there was significant divergence between each country, which was attributable to NOx
and coal consumption, and waste use.

2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

1.0E+01

Social assets [US$/t]

8.0E-04
6.0E-04
4.0E-04
2.0E-04

5.0E+00
0.0E+00-5.0E+00-1.0E+01-1.5E+01-2.0E+01
Egypt

Germany

BrazilUSA

Thailand

Limestone
NOx
PM
Net environmental impact

Fig. 5.2-2 Damage assessment results (social assets)
8.0E-10

Biodiversity [EINES/t]

1.5E+01

1.0E+01

5.0E+00

0.0E+00

6.0E-10

4.0E-102.0E-10

Limestone
NOx
PM
Net environmental impact

Fig. 5.2-3 Damage assessment results (primary production)

CO2
CoalSOx
Waste use

Egypt

Germany

BrazilUSA

Thailand

Egypt

Germany

BrazilUSA

ThailandPhilippines

India

Japan

CO2
CoalSOx
Waste use

Philippines

0.0E+00-5.0E+00

India

Primary production [kg/t]

Philippines

CO2CoalSOx
Waste use

Limestone
NOx
PM
Net environmental impact

Fig. 5.2-1 Damage assessment results (human health)

India

Egypt

Germany

BrazilUSA

ThailandPhilippines

India

Japan

CO2CoalSOx
Waste use

Japan-2.5E+01

0.0E+00

Japan

Human health [DALY/t]

1.0E-03

Limestone
NOx
PM
Net environmental impact

Fig. 5.2-4 Damage assessment results (biodiversity)

2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

5.2.3

WeightingFig. 5.2-5 shows weighting results for cement manufactured in each country (by substance). The
environmental impact of CO2 emissions was significant in all countries. On the other hand, theenvironmental impact of coal consumption assessed as high in the Philippines. This is because
sustainability (Reserves to production ratio) was assessed as low due to the use of coal fromcountries with low reserves. The environmental impact of NOx was assessed as significantly high in
India and Thailand. This is because of large populations in dispersed areas, resulting in significant
total health damage. In terms of total environmental impact, results for India, the Philippines, andThailand were very high compared to other countries. As mentioned above, this is because theenvironmental impact of coal consumption or NOx was higher compared to other countries.
When assessing reduction contributions attributable to avoiding the landfilling of wastes, it was
found that the impact was greater in Japan, the United States, and Germany. With Japan in particular,
avoiding landfills makes a significant contribution to reduction because cement clinker ismanufactured using large volumes of waste, and user costs for waste disposal are significant.
Furthermore, the results for Japan showed similar trends to the assessment conducted using
LIME2.8) In the United States and Germany, user costs for waste disposal are significant, resultingthat reduction contributions due to waste utilization were assessed to be high. However, the accuracyof these results is considered to be lower than other results because waste utilization volume incountries other than Japan is an estimated value and the accuracy of the damage coefficient estimate
for foreign waste in LIME3 was low.
Fig. 5.2-6 shows weighting results for cement manufactured by impact domain. Global warming
had a significant impact in all countries. On the other hand, the impact of resource consumption, air
pollution and the reduction contributions due to the use of waste utilization varied greatly dependingon the manufacturing methods and environmental conditions in the target countries.

60
40
200-20-40

CO2CoalSOx
Waste use

Egypt

Germany

BrazilUSA

ThailandPhilippines

India-60
Japan

Integrated assessment result [US$/t]

2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

Limestone
NOxPM
Net environmental impact

6040200-20-40

Egypt

Germany

BrazilUSA

ThailandPhilippines

India-60

Japan

Integrated assessment result [US$/t]

Fig. 5.2-5 Integration results (by substance)

Waste use
Air pollution
Natural resource consumption
Global warming
Net environmental impact

Fig. 5.2-6 Integration results (by impact domain)2.1
Environmental impact assessment for cement manufactured in countries around the world.

6.

Conclusion

6.1

Summary of the results

We assessed the environmental impact of processes, from raw material procurement tomanufacturing, per 1ton of cement manufactured around the world. Results showed that theenvironmental impact of CO2 was large in all countries. On the other hand, the environmental impactof coal consumption was assessed to be large in the Philippines, and the environmental impact ofNOx was assessed to be significant in India and Thailand. In terms of total environmental impact,significant results were obtained in the above three countries (Philippines, India, and Thailand). The
assessment of landfill avoidance through the use of wastes suggests that Japan, the United States,and Germany can achieve a significant reduction contribution effect.

6.2

Limits and future issues

Since inventory data other than that related to CO2 emissions have not been sufficiently disclosedby the WBCSD-CSI, many numerous assessments were made using estimated values. Since we usedindirect data, including CSR reports from major manufacturers, not released by country, theevaluation results are not expected to change significantly but further verification is required. Also,
based on the results of this impact assessment, it is necessary to inform relevant parties that thedisclosure of data other than CO2 emissions is also important.
Since only the cement manufacturing process was evaluated, we could not conduct an assessment
throughout the life cycle. In particular, the demolition process (waste concrete) of structures overseas
is thought to have a significant impact.
WBCSD-CSI4) did not have sufficient data, so no assessment of China was conducted. Since
China is the world's largest producer of cement, it is necessary to utilize other databases and conduct
an assessment in the future.

Reference literature
1) Sakai and Daimon (eds.) (2009) Gijutsu Shoin
2) Itsubo et al., http://www.comm.tcu.ac.jp/itsubo-lab/lcaproject/products/about/index.html
3) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2012)
4) WBCSD-CSI: GNR, https://www.wbcsdcement.org/GNR-2016/5) Japan Cement Association, http://www.jcassoc.or.jp/cement/4pdf/jg1i_01.pdf6) Gartner and Hirao (2015), Cement and Concrete Research, No.78，pp.126-142
7) IPCC (2006): Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories
8) Hoshino et al (2015), Cement science and concrete technology, No. 69, pp.676-689