A Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Roadmap for the Indian cement sector has been launched at the UNGC High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2019  in New Delhi, India.  

Cement is the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after coal-powered electricity, accounting for approximately 5% of global CO2 production. India's cement sector is the second largest in the world, and aligning the sector priorities with India's sustainability priorities is important for the success of the sector and for the country.

The Indian Cement Sector SDG Roadmap was developed over the last year by nine of India's leading cement companies, two industry associations, and ERM, convened by the WBCSD Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) in India program. ERM's efforts involve extensive technical and strategic input from our global experts with cross-sector experience in addressing the SDG agenda.

The Indian Cement Sector SDG Roadmap is the first country-level SDG Roadmap initiative. The Roadmap's purpose is to explore, articulate and help realize the potential of the sector to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through an integrated approach that recognizes material sectoral challenges and opportunities to meet societal needs. India's success is critical to delivering the SDGs globally.

The Roadmap's priority SDGs are based on the impact opportunities identified for the cement sector and key interactions throughout the sector value chain. These impact opportunities and related actions are grouped into four key themes:

  • Energy and climate;
  • People and communities;
  • Circular economy; and
  • Natural resources management.

Cross-cutting themes like human rights, low-carbon economy and innovation in processes, products and services, and technology influence the eight impact opportunities enlisted in this Roadmap.

Previously, ERM led the development of the WBCSD’s SDG Sector Roadmap Guidelines, published in April 2018, and contributed to the development of the Chemical Sector SDG Roadmap, launched in July of 2018.

Learn more about WBCSD's Indian Cement Sector SDG Roadmap