THE Philippine cement sector is ramping up its use of alternative fuels as part of a long-term plan to shrink its carbon footprint, the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) said.
CeMAP president John Reinier Dizon said the Philippines Cement Decarbonization Roadmap, set to be finalized by February, will be presented at an ASEAN meeting in March, with the country hosting.
“Our target is to reduce our carbon footprint,” Dizon told reporters on Friday. “Because in cement production, we use a large amount of fuel, and this is typically coal. It is fossil-based and, of course, it emits CO2 [carbon dioxide].”
The initiative comes as the industry braces for growth driven by infrastructure projects and renewed private construction. In 2024, local cement production exceeded 27 million tons, supported by a capacity of about 53 million tons.
The roadmap is being developed under a United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) project on decarbonizing cement and concrete, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The Philippines is the second country in the region, after Thailand, to adopt such a framework.
Targets stretch to 2050, with five-year benchmarks along the way, per the CeMAP head. Dizon added that achieving net zero is “challenging.”
“The holy grail, maybe that’s not the right term, but the ultimate goal is net zero,” he said partly in Filipino. “Even reaching the immediate target is already difficult, because if you really want to eliminate CO2 entirely, that’s hard.”
Dizon added that the roadmap is voluntary and not legally binding, but represents a commitment for companies aiming to make their operations more sustainable.
National policies, such as the New Government Procurement Reform Act and the Tatak Pinoy Act, already include provisions on sustainable procurement.
An Associated Press report indicated that climate patterns in 2024 helped set the stage for 2025’s extreme weather.
Atmospheric levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide jumped by the most on record in 2024. That “turbocharged” the climate, the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization says, resulting in more extreme weather.
Asia is bearing the brunt of such changes, warming nearly twice as fast as the global average. Scientists agree that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are increasing.
Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2026/01/26/cement-industry-banking-on-alternative-fuels-to-slash-carbon-dioxide-emissions/
