On Tuesday, 25 November, the conference “Decarbonization of the Cement Manufacturing Sector and Green Public Procurement” was held at Foment del Treball Nacional, organized by Ciment Català and IECA (Spanish Institute of Cement and its Applications). The event aimed at analyzing decarbonization targets and the solutions that will make it possible to move towards climate neutrality

The president of Ciment Català, Salvador Fernández Capo, opened the conference by outlining its thematic focus: decarbonization and the green public procurement needed to drive it, stressing the importance of strengthening public–private collaboration. Fernández Capo emphasized that, to advance towards climate goals, administrative procedures must be streamlined, as current bureaucratic hurdles hinder the implementation of strategic projects.

Next, Albert Avellaneda, director of Ciment Català, presented the updated Roadmap to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, published this October. Avellaneda explained the actions already underway to meet the established targets, such as increasing energy recovery, improving the clinker factor in cement, using green hydrogen as fuel, electrifying transport, and capturing, storing, and using CO₂. He also highlighted the main barriers faced by the sector in the decarbonization process, particularly the lack of permits from the State Administration for CO₂ storage projects.

The institutional perspective was provided by Anna Camp, director of ICAEN (Catalan Energy Institute), who outlined the energy strategies being deployed by the Government of Catalonia. Camp placed the cement sector within the framework of PROENCAT 2050, a document that analyses potential evolutions of Catalonia’s energy system and defines the strategies needed to achieve the energy transition towards a net-zero economy. She also provided updates on PINECCAT30, the Integrated Energy and Climate Plan of Catalonia 2030, currently under development, which includes ambitious targets relating to emissions reduction, energy savings, and the expansion of renewable energies.

The conference continued with the presentation by Maria José Sarrias, head of the Environmental Qualification Service of the Directorate General for Climate Change and Environmental Quality. She focused on the greening of public procurement and the Catalan Government’s Green Public Procurement Action Plan. Sarrias detailed the implementation status of the 2022–2025 Plan and announced that work is already underway on the new 2026–2029 Plan, which aims to promote decarbonization and the circular economy within public procurement.

From a more technical perspective, César Bartolomé, director of Technology and Promotion at IECA, addressed the role of cement and concrete in global GHG emissions. He analyzed the issue and stressed that the solution is not to eliminate the use of cement and concrete—since no equivalent alternatives exist—but to continue advancing in their decarbonization. Bartolomé pointed out that “decarbonizing the sector is not only the responsibility of cement companies, but of the entire value chain”, concluding that “regulatory agility and green public procurement must be the tools that stimulate progress in the current situation”.

The final presentation was given by Licinio Alfaro, head of the Sustainable Construction Department at ITeC (Construction Technology Institute), who stressed that “sustainability is not just about materials, but about projects”. Alfaro explained that the environmental impact of a project must be assessed from a holistic perspective, based on the life cycle analysis of the final construction, with special attention to the use phase of the building and/or infrastructure.

Finally, the event was closed by Anna Camp, who thanked all participants and highlighted the importance of continuing to work together to accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable construction model.

You can consult the presentations here: