As other sectors, the cement industry works towards the sustainable development, which planning requires a long term vision focused on the preservation of the quality of life. That vision translates into respect of the human necessities and of the local and global ecosystems. This is why the environment is one of the most important strategic variables for the Spanish cement companies.

The cement industry in Spain tried to articulate an environmental policy that respects a group of basic principles:

• To reconcile the cement manufacturing activity with the respect for the environment and protection of the same.

• To offer the society the possibilities that the cement industry offers for the treatment of residues generated in other industrial and human activities, particularly in the field of the energetic valuing of residues, by offering an ecological and safe solution for the management of certain types of residues.

• To improve the environmental behavior of the manufacturing facilities with a better environmental management, equipment upgrading, and ways of protecting the environment.

With the objective of reducing non-renewable fossil fuels consumption and to provide an efficient and safe response to the society regarding the treatment of its residues, the cement sector has resolutely impelled the diversification of its energy sources.

The cement factories offer a very adequate opportunity for the sustainable management of the resources, as the characteristics of its productive process allow them to energetically value various types of residues with optimum technical and environmental conditions. By offering this service, the cement industrial activity carries out an environmental and social contribution.

The Spanish cement industry aligned with the European companies, promote the sustainable use of the natural resources. Its three main lines of work in relation with resource management are:

• Investments and modifications of processes in order to diminish the energy consumption per cement ton.

• To perform studies, sustainable exploitation projects, and environmental restoration of quarries.

It was also used near 0.3 Mt of artificial plaster recovered from the gases cleaning processes of other industries, in substitution of the plaster obtained from mining exploitations.

• Fuel recovery

The substitution of fossil fuels by residues supposes an ecological and safe treatment of the residues, which takes advantage to its maximum of their energy and minerals without generating harmful impacts on the environment.

It is practice that has permitted to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases in Spain. The valuing of residues in cement ovens has been impelled in recent years by the following reasons:

• Greater awareness-rising on the correct management of residues by the Autonomous Communities, main responsible ones in this matter. An example of this is that in 2006 the ‘Generalitat de Catalunya' issued a report on the mud purifier energetic leveraging tests, performed within the frame of a collaboration agreement signed in 2005.

The report concludes that this practice represents an environmental improvement and that neither the emissions nor the health are affected by the use of this alternative fuel. Similar results were obtained in the Valencian Community, on the basis of tests with animal flours and liquid fuels that have been performed in recent years.

The Andalucia Autonomous Community confirmed in its residues' plans that the cement sector is one of the pioneers in the correct management of these. In the País Vasco, agreements with the administration continue for promoting the use of different types of residues in its cement plants.

• Support from the Ministry of Environment and from the Ministry of Industry, which in the last CO2 Allocating National Plan recognize the use of bio-mass residues and of alternative fuels as the main and necessary tool for reducing the emissions by the sector.

• Close collaboration with the laborers, followed by the implementation of the Cement and Environment Foundation – CEMA Foundation. This Foundation arouse from the signing of the Agreement for cement industry residues energetic valorization in 2004, signed between the Spanish Cement Manufacturers Grouping, Oficemen and diverse trade union sectorial sections.

• Greater citizen information in the municipalities where this activity takes place thanks to a transparency policy and companies' communication along with a commitment from the local corporations towards the environmental benefit of its region.

Each time more fuels are recovered in more than half of the factories, following the example of other European countries and the residues' management principles. The Spanish cement sector used around 296 kilo-tons of residues as alternative fuels in 2006, corresponding to 5.4% of the thermic consumption of the clinker ovens.

The recovery of these fuel resources prevented the consumption of non-renewable energetic resources in about 155.559 tons of equivalent petroleum (tep), and its corresponding transportation to Spain, an energy loss-making country.

It also contributed to the achievement of the objectives of the Renewable Energies Plan (2005-2010), which proposes for 2010 that 12% of the energy consumed in Spain to be of renewable origin. One of the concrete objectives is the energetic leveraging of more than 375.000 tep of bio-mass in industrial facilities.

The Spanish cement sector and the climate change

The cement sector has been working for minimizing its specific emissions per cement ton. The paths to achieve the specific reductions are: • Improvement of the energetic efficiency of some facilities. • Optimization of the additions and promotion of cements type with additions for common uses. • Optimization of the fossil fuels mix. • Promotion of the use of residues as alternative fuels to reduce traditional fossil fuels consumption.

This is the main development path to be promoted by the Spanish cement sector and it currently serves as a bridge to establish volunteer agreements among the European countries.

The residues contribute greenhouse gases (GEI) as many of them, which have usable calorific power, ferment in the tip consequently emitting methane, or they simple are object of uncontrolled combustions.

• Research on the use of new raw materials that reduce the loss of carbon chemical reaction emission rate (non-carbon matters, fluxes to reduce the fusion temperature, etc).

In 2005 the GEI total emissions in Spain reached 440.6 Mt of equivalent CO2. The cement sector represented approximately 7% of the Spanish total.

The cement manufacturing companies have responded in efficient manner to the first two years of the first CO2 Allocating National Plan (PNA), implemented by the National Government in order to comply with the Kyoto Protocol and have surpassed their efficiency objectives.

In sum, in this first period, the sector has been able to save 1.47 million tons of CO2, thanks to the fact that the industry has invested more than 400 million Euros in the last 5 years in improvements directed to environmental protection.

The first PNA allocated in 2005, 27.8 million tons of CO2 to the cement sector, of which 27.4 million were consumed and a saving of 1.6% was achieved. In turn, of the 28.4 million tons assigned by the Government for 2006, 27.4 were consumed and a saving of 3.6% was achieved.

This has been possible thanks to the labor performed by the cement factories regarding the implementation of the best available technologies directed to favor the reduction in energy consumption and emissions of CO2 in their facilities. Actually, despite the increment of 1.07% in clinker production in 2006 in comparison to 2005, the CO2 emissions were kept constant, which means that 10 kg of CO2 per clinker ton produced were saved.

The industry effort to promote the use of renewable energies (bio-mass) has also has effect in the CO2 emission reduction. The use of alternative fuels constitutes a saving in non-renewable fossil fuels such as carbon and petroleum and the decrement of global emissions, particularly of CO2.