Strengthening Sustainability | Decarbonizing Manufacturing Industries
Manufacturing is essential for economic growth, and its supply chains are pivotal for ensuring the wellbeing and advancement of people and economies. Among the largest and most critical manufacturing industries are steel, cement, glass, and chemicals. These industries are the biggest industrial consumers of energy, helping to make heavy industry responsible for 20 percent of global direct carbon dioxide emissions today. Given the integral role that these industries play in the global economy and in people’s lives, it will be critical for them to decarbonize their production processes if the world is to meet emissions-reduction goals and prevent intensifying climate disasters.
The steel, cement, glass, and chemicals industries have all been growing exponentially to keep up with the world’s increasing population and the associated demand for building and infrastructure materials. Global demand for steel—the world’s most traded commodity after oil—has increased by a factor of three since 1971. Today, steel manufacturers use 8 percent of the world’s energy, mostly coal, and emit 6 to 7 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases.
Cement production, meanwhile, has tripled from just 1995, and now generates about 7 percent of the world’s total emissions, while global sales for chemicals have increased 2.4 times over the last two decades, with the industry accounting for about 5 to 6 percent of the world’s emissions.
Contents
- Sector Background
- Sustainability
- Challenges & Opportunities
- IFC Role
- IFC Green Partnerships
- Conclusion
Nov 16, 2021
Strengthening Sustainability in the Cement Industry
Concrete literally holds the modern world together. The material and its binding agent cement comprise a key ingredient in the buildings and roads essential for development and in infrastructure critical to sustainable growth. The cement industry also generates about 7 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. While manufacturers have reduced emissions in recent decades, the industry must accelerate these efforts considerably if it is to meet its goal of achieving carbon-neutral concrete by 2050.
English | 15 pages | IFC 2021
Aug 3, 2021
Strengthening Sustainability in the Steel Industry
Today, steel is present in virtually every aspect of people’s lives, from homes and hospitals to roads and other infrastructure that provide the foundation for social and economic development. Steel is among the world’s most recycled materials, with circular economy practices incorporated into various stages of the production cycle. Yet the high-temperature heat vital to its production process still requires large amount of energy. Hence, the iron and steel sector remains among the largest consumers of energy and emitters of carbon dioxide, accounting for 6 to 7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
English | 15 pages | IFC 2021
Aug 3, 2021
Strengthening Sustainability in the Plastics Industry
Plastics are the building blocks of many value chains, including packaging, health care, construction, aviation, logistics, clothing, and increasingly, the recycling industry. They play a vital role in driving industrial development, creating jobs, expanding opportunities, and generating wealth to improve people’s lives. But as the use of plastic has increased, so too have the environmental and social costs. The production process uses petrochemicals as a raw material and generates greenhouse gas emissions. Perhaps the biggest cost is the waste generated by discarded plastic goods. Most of the common plastics of today are not fully biodegradable, and that has created a cascade of environmental, financial, and health problems around the world.
English | 17 pages | IFC 2021
Aug 3, 2021
Strengthening Sustainability in the Glass Industry
Glass is present in a myriad of products used in both daily life and manufacturing, from beverage containers to windows to fiber optic cables. Its many properties and affordable cost make it an essential material for development, whether in the construction of houses and high rises where people live and work or for use in industries such as agribusiness and automaking.
English | 18 pages | IFC 2021
