Towards Value Creation
As a member of the cement industry, we participate in the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), a global organization of the cement and concrete industry, in order to address global issues such as climate change and biodiversity. region, such as policy proposals and information dissemination, as the only member company in Japan, while quickly grasping global trends in technology development, policies, etc., and reflecting them in our own management, toward improving the reliability and sustainable development of this industrial sector.
Overview of GCCA
The parent organization of GCCA is CSI (Cement Sustainability Initiative), which was established in 1999 within the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development). We also participated and worked on the development of a CO2 emission calculation protocol for the cement industry, but in response to the rapid rise in carbon prices in the EU-ETS and the strong social demand for CO2 reduction in cement and concrete, it was determined that it was essential to establish a global organization to respond to this, and GCCA was established by 10 companies, including Taiheiyo Cement, mainly by four major overseas cement companies, succeeding WBCSD-CSI in 2018.
As of June 2025, 49 companies including us are participating, and the cement production capacity of the participating companies is equivalent to covering more than 80% of the world's cement production excluding China with participating companies.
Based on the Sustainability Charter with the pillars of addressing climate change, occupational safety and health, circular economy, social responsibility, and environmental protection, important activities that can only be addressed within an international framework, such as setting various targets, formulating guidelines, making policy proposals, and collaborating with various international organizations, are being promoted.
GCCA Activities
We are a member company of the Board of Directors, which can be said to be the highest decision-making body of GCCA, and are involved in decision-making on important measures. In addition, working groups are established for each individual theme under the board as a function to support its activities, and practical discussions are advanced in these working groups. The GCCA holds an annual general meeting once a year, where CEOs and working group members from each company gather in person. Active discussions are held on important challenges such as climate change, the circular economy, and biodiversity. Also, being an in-person event, it is a valuable opportunity for member companies that cannot usually meet in person to interact.
We are actively involved in the field of innovation, and we are also participating in advanced activities such as GCCRN (Global Cement and Concrete Research Network), a funding program for researchers at universities, etc., and Open Challenge, which can be said to be a program to search for promising startup companies.
In addition to the above activities, various guidelines as environmental evaluation indicators have been formulated based on the Sustainability Charter, and we, as a member company, utilize these guidelines and disclose them as key performance evaluation indicators such as CO2 emissions, emissions, and occupational safety and health in our Integrated Report.
Specific Activity Examples
Cement Industry Net Zero Progress Report
The "Net Zero Concrete Roadmap" has been formulated toward decarbonization in 2050. This roadmap integrates these measures, including not only cement materials but also initiatives in design and construction as concrete, and introduces a scenario that takes into account the CO2 absorption effect throughout the life cycle of cement as a product.
In addition, the activities of member companies based on this roadmap are compiled once a year into a booklet titled "Cement Industry Net Zero Progress Report," which is distributed at the COP held every autumn and at various other international events as an example of the advanced initiatives of the cement and concrete industry.
Formulation of various policies and policy recommendations
Various policies are formulated to encourage the industry to transform itself in response to the important issues it faces, and to obtain support for such transformation at the global level or from the policy side of each country. In 2024, important policies were newly established and updated to promote the spread of blended cement, which is a key measure for promoting decarbonization, to prepare the environment for the introduction of CCUS, and to support the introduction of carbon pricing.
Research and Development: GCCRN
The GCCA has established the GCCRN as a program to financially support research and development at universities and other institutions that form the foundation for innovation in the cement and concrete fields, in its position to promote innovation in these fields. In addition to the cement industry, related industries such as plant manufacturers and admixture manufacturers have also agreed with the purpose of the program's establishment and are participating In addition to online exchanges, there is also an opportunity for in-person reporting of research results once a year, and our researchers actively participate, using it as an opportunity for information gathering and networking.
