Using industrial by-products as alternative raw materials, JSW Cement is replacing clinker in its cement and thereby reducing its greenhouse has (GHG) emissions.

The by-products it is using is primarily blast furnace slag, along with fly ash, flue dust and red mud in place of traditional raw materials like limestone, bauxite and iron-ore.

The circular economy is the first of seven pillars in JSW Cement's sustainability strategy and it is targeting a 100% increase in use of waste derived resources from 5.2 million tonnes in 2021 to 10.4 million tonnes by 2026.

Elsewhere, it is also replacing traditional fossil fuels like coal with alternatives such as pharmaceutical waste, legacy waste, municipal solid waste, plastic waste and biomass to divert waste from landfill and reduce emissions. In the financial year 2024, JSW Cement quadrupled its use of alternative fuels from approximately 15,000 tonnes to roughly 60,000 tonnes with it now accounting for 9.8% of its fuel requirement. By 2030 it aims to have more than 30% of its fuel come from alternative sources.

"Two-thirds of our raw materials come from waste-derived resources, and we are also replacing roughly 10% of our fuel needs with alternative fuels, including plastic waste, refuse-derived fuels, and pharmaceutical waste," said Manoj Rustagi, chief sustainability and innovation officer at JSW Cement. "Our commitment to a circular business model has played a crucial role in advancing our decarbonisation efforts. Today JSW Cement has the lowest carbon dioxide emission intensity nationally as well as globally, perhaps."

The circular business model has enabled JSW Cement to reduce its GHG emission intensity to roughly 240kg a tonne in 2024, compared with the global average of 585kg a tonne.

"Having previously worked on detailed analysis of clinker emissions in cement. These are good reductions, especially in quickly growing emerging markets," commented one Sustainable Company Awards judge.

"Very impressive combination of ambition and leveraging the organizations scale to achieve scalable," added another.

In 2023, JSW Cement had a production capacity of 20 million tonnes of cement per annum across seven manufacturing facilities in India.