CO2 Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Cement Industry

In the 2002 Agenda for Action, CSI members pledged to work with stakeholders to develop a protocol for measuring and reporting CO2 emissions from cement manufacturing.

This was accomplished in 2003 when the CSI produced a CO2 accounting and reporting protocol (in line with the greenhouse gas protocol developed by the WBCSD and WRI in 2001). This was updated in 2005, following useful feedback from stakeholders.

This protocol provides a harmonized methodology for calculating CO2 emissions, with a view to reporting these emissions transparently. It addresses all direct and the main indirect sources of CO2 emissions related to the cement manufacturing process, in absolute as well as in specific or unit-based terms.

The protocol comprises two main elements:

1. guidance document
2. excel spreadsheet: a practical tool to help cement companies prepare their CO2 inventories

Today, the protocol has been widely adapted, in whole or in part, to many other CO2 inventory programs, including: the US EPA Climate Leaders Program, the California Climate Registry, the EU Emissions Trading System, and the Asia Pacific Partnership.