Introduction:Investors should encourage cement companies in China to disclose environmental performance data to help reduce environmental costs and manage the risks of tougher pollution control legislation, according to a report published by the Innovation Centre for Clean-air Solutions (ICCS) and environmental consultants Trucost, and funded by Energy Foundation China. The report assesses the environmental cost of cement manufacturing in the country — the world’s largest cement market. The assessment includes 32 stock-exchange listed cement companies operating in China. The research team calculates the total environmental cost of these companies to be $31.5 billion (RMB 195.4bn) per year. Over 80% of the cost comes from the health effects of air pollution caused by inefficient cement kilns that lack adequate pollution control technology.
