Welcome to Dangote Cement Plc

ENVIRONMENTAL

Our Environmental Pillar defines our way of entrenching environmental sustainability by identifying, measuring, and mitigating actual and potential negative environmental footprints in all our operations. Our goal is to improve our performance in energy efficiency, waste management, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and to leverage the opportunities in environmental responsibility, such as the medium to long term cost efficiency and reputational capital offered by the circular economy business model.

Understanding and managing our
carbon footprint

The cement industry is a major emitter of carbon dioxide which is known to contribute to global warming and climate change. Approximately 60% of these emissions are produced in the conversion of limestone (CaCO3), a key natural ingredient, to clinker CaO), an intermediate component of finished cement; while the remaining 40% of CO2 is generated by the combustion of fossil fuels in the kiln and to produce electricity to power the plant. However, our plants are mostly designed to be energy efficient using cutting edge technology in cement production.

Operational efficiency

At Dangote Cement, we use large, modern rotary kilns equipped with ‘preheaters’ that use exhaust gases from the kiln to heat raw materials as they pass down the pre-heater tower to the kiln. Using these modern heat recycling systems in this way, we can heat the raw material to about 900oC before it enters the kiln, thus reducing its time in the kiln itself and the amount of fuel used to convert it into clinker. This is good for costs and good for the environment because of lower carbon emissions involved in the production of our cement and the natural resource efficiency.

These measures have resulted in operational cost savings, to the benefit of margins, and at the same time produce less CO2 emissions per ton of clinker and cementitious material produced, compared to less modern plants.

Circular economy

We have started exploring the feasibility of using alternative fuels in our kilns through effective and fit-for-purpose reutilisation of wastes produced in our sites. However, the amount of wastes that we generate in our operations are minimal, and so we understand that, to leverage the opportunities presented by the Circular Economy business model, we will need to collaborate and partner with third parties, in line with SDG 17.

Precautionary approach to
environmental management

As part of our precautionary measures, all new projects and/or any significant modification of existing plant, are preceded by a comprehensive Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to identify and mitigate potentially significant environmental impacts and risks that are involved, as required by local regulations and Group policies.

In addition, structured and independent environmental audits are carried out by the Group environmental team and external parties (i.e. Control Authorities, Certification Bodies, etc.) on a routine basis to verify the site Environmental Management System (EMS) effectiveness and the improvement of environmental performance. We remain committed to taking proactive steps and investing in technologies that will support our goal of ensuring that our operations do not result in irreversible damages to the environment.