Green by Design
The numbers are stark. According to the World Cement Association, global cement demand could fall by as much as 22 per cent by 2050, driven not by a slowdown in construction but by the accelerating global push to reduce carbon emissions. For an industry that has long equated growth with volume, this is a structural signal, not a cyclical one.
India, however, occupies a different position in this story. As the world’s second largest cement producer and one of its fastest growing construction markets, demand here will continue to rise. The question is not whether India will build. It is how. The construction sector accounts for nearly 40 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions when both embodied and operational carbon are considered. Cement sits squarely at the centre of that equation.
The good news is that action is no longer theoretical. On 25 June 2026, Indian Cement Review, in association with Fuller Technologies, convened an expert panel to examine how low-carbon cement and material innovation can drive green construction at scale. The discussion covered LC3 technology, supplementary cementitious materials, circular economy integration, building codes, public procurement, and the financing of early-stage innovation.
India already has the IS 18189:2023 standard for LC3, and JK Cement carried out the first commercial production of LC3 at its Rajasthan plant, followed by JK Lakshmi Cement. Yet the gap between what is technically permitted and what public procurement actually specifies remains the single biggest bottleneck to scale. As of 2026, around 35 plants globally are producing calcined clay for cement, with many more under construction — a signal that the window for India to lead rather than follow is open, but not indefinitely.
This July issue captures that momentum. Our cover story examines the power of branding in a consolidating market. Our innovation feature maps the technologies rewriting the rules of cement manufacturing, while the webinar report gives you the unfiltered conversation that the industry needs to be having.
Cement Expo 2026, scheduled for 15 to 17 December at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, will take this conversation further. We look forward to seeing you there.
