Kolkata: India’s cement industry has become more energy-efficient and reduced its carbon emissions per tonne of production, but its overall carbon footprint continues to grow, while increasing groundwater extraction in water-stressed regions and a deterioration in workers’ safety have raised serious sustainability concerns, a new study has found.The study, released on Thursday by the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iFOREST), assessed 18 cement companies accounting for nearly 87% of India’s cement production against 107 environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators for 2023-24 and 2024-25.India, the world’s second-largest cement producer, consumes 2.54 gigajoules of energy per tonne of cementitious material, compared with the global average of 2.88 gigajoules. However, renewable energy accounts for just 5.1% of the sector’s energy consumption.Despite a marginal decline in carbon emission intensity from 0.58 to 0.57 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of production, the industry’s total emissions rose 4% to 224.3 million tonnes, accounting for an estimated 6–7% of India’s overall carbon emissions.The findings reveal an equally worrying trend in water consumption. Although overall water withdrawal declined 9.5%, extraction in water-stressed regions, particularly Rajasthan, increased by more than 20%. The share of groundwater in total withdrawals in these regions jumped from 27% to 38%.Workers’ safety emerged as another major concern. Work-related injuries increased 36.5% to 359, while fatalities climbed from 17 to 22. Workers accounted for over 90% of the deaths.The study also highlighted substantial gender disparities. Women constitute just 3.1% of the sector’s 2.28 lakh workforce, while 63% of workers are employed on contract. Women in key managerial positions earn 26.8% less than their male counterparts.“Indian cement is more energy-efficient than the global average, and that deserves recognition. But the sector is putting increasing pressure on groundwater in dry regions, and workers’ health and safety needs more attention,” said iFOREST CEO Chandra Bhushan.Despite companies reporting 99% of mandatory sustainability indicators, significant gaps remain in environmental disclosures, with only 57% of voluntary indicators reported.The report called for cement-specific reporting guidelines, mandatory production disclosures, standardised environmental metrics and independent verification to ensure that sustainability commitments translate into measurable improvements.
