Cement is one of the most widely used substances on earth after water. However, the cement industry is also one of the highest contributors of carbon dioxide that is approximately 8% of the total CO2 emission.
Net Zero/ Other Climate Related Commitments: In line with the GCCA 2050 Roadmap to net-zero concrete, developed in 2023, we are committed to achieving Net-Zero Concrete by 2050. Further to this, in March 2025, we led the development of GCCA India’s Roadmap, targeting Net-Zero emissions for the Indian cement industry by 2070, with an interim goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. FY 2024-25 has been a significant year, as we have achieved another milestone with the validation of our near-term CO2 reduction targets by the SBTi. We aim to reduce our gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions intensity by 32.9% per tonne of cementitious materials by FY 2034–35 from a FY 2023–24 baseline. This target includes a 30.5% reduction in Scope 1 emissions and a 68.2% reduction in Scope 2 emissions within the same timeframe. Extending our efforts across the value chain, we are also committed to reducing our gross Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods by 36.3% per tonne of purchased clinker and cement by FY 2034–35 from a FY 2023–24 as the base year baseline.
Besides this, we have also a signatory/member of following initiatives and commitments
- Signatory to the Global Framework Principles for Decarbonising Heavy Industry, which provides clear steps to reduce emissions in heavy industries across the world to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
- Signatory to the UN Energy Compact, a voluntary commitment of action with specific targets and timelines to achieve SDG7 in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
- Member of UNIDO’s Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative’s (IDDI) advisory group since 2022.
- Member of Development Council for Cement Industry (DCCI), set up by Government of India in 2021.
- Signed the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Climate Charter and became a member of CII Climate Council in 2022.
As a part of our climate action strategy, we keenly focus on 4 levers which played a big role in achieving our carbon reduction targets:
- Clinker substitution: We continue to use industrial waste, such as blast furnace slag/fly ash, to substitute clinker in the production of cement or cementitious products; more than 90% of our products are slag-based.
- Alternative Fuel and resources: In FY 2026 we witnessed a dip in our Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) from 16.5% to 13% owing to operational changes at our plants. However, our target is to reach 30% by 2030, and are implementing additional measures (such as Chlorine bypass) to increase the TSR.
- Clean and Green Energy: We are progressively increasing our clean and green energy portfolio. Over the last five years, the share of clean energy (renewable energy and WHRS combined) in the company’s power mix has increased significantly, from 3.6% in FY2022 to 24% in FY2026, reflecting its accelerated transition towards low-carbon cement production. Focusing specifically on renewable energy, JSW Cement added approximately 7.8 MW of solar capacity through PPAs during FY2026, taking its total renewable energy portfolio to approximately 35 MW, contributing almost 9% of total power requirement. The company plans to further scale up its solar and wind power portfolio to nearly 150 MW over the next two to three years, supporting its ambition to achieve a 60% clean energy share by 2030.
- Energy efficiency: We take periodic upgrades and initiatives to achieve better energy efficiency in our processes. This helps further in decarbonisation.
In addition, we are aggressively developing low carbon products such as Geopolymer cement, LC3 cement etc.
Owing to all above initiatives, in the past 10 years, we have quadrupled our production while we have reduced our carbon emission intensity by more than 50%. For FY2025-26, our net CO2 emission intensity (Scope 1+ Scope2) stood at 270 kg/T which is significantly below the global average of ~566 kg/tonne and national average of ~530 kg/tonne, leading the way with low-carbon products to combat climate change in a hard-to-abate sector.
Besides these four levers, we are also focusing on Carbon Capture Utilisation Projects and new low carbon products development which are considered as future levers for decarbonisation. In 2025, we were the only cement producer in India to secure two out of the five national Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) testbeds launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). We collaborated with premier Indian research institutions on two distinct pilot technologies under public-private partnerships:
1) Testbed-2 (Carbon-Negative Mineralization): Developed in partnership with IIT Kanpur to convert captured carbon dioxide permanently into stable minerals.
2) Testbed-4 (Vacuum Swing Adsorption): Developed alongside CSIR-IIP, IIT Tirupati, and IISc using Vacuum Swing Adsorption (VSA) to separate CO₂ directly from cement kiln gases and reintegrate it back into construction materials.
We, as a responsible organization towards climate change, have initiated a Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures, TCFD assessment in March 2023 to disclose our climate related risk and opportunities. Please find a summary report here.
Climate Risk Assessment: Our climate risk assessment is integrated into a multi-disciplinary, company-wide risk management process through a documented framework that aligns climate-related risks and opportunities with our centralized enterprise risk management system. We conduct scenario analysis using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the potential financial and strategic impacts of climate change on our business. This assessment covers all stages of our value chain, including our own operations, upstream activities such as raw material sourcing, and downstream activities involving market dynamics. The types of climate-related risks considered in our assessment include current regulation, emerging regulation, technology risk, legal risk, market risk, reputational risk, acute physical risk, and chronic physical risk. These risks are evaluated across short-term (0-2 years), medium-term (3-9 years), and long-term (10 years and beyond) to ensure that climate risks are systematically identified, evaluated, and addressed across all aspects of our business.
Physical Climate Risk Adaptation: We have developed a context-specific physical climate risk adaptation plan based on the outcomes of our climate risk assessments. The adaptation plan covers 100% of our existing operations as well as new operations in the planning and early development stages. Adaptation measures to be prioritised according to the severity of identified potential risks such as heat stress, water stress, flood impacts etc. Adaptation measures suggested in the plan include strengthening operational and supply chain resilience, Drainage and watershed management, additional natural ventilation conducting water risk assessments, implementing biodiversity management plans, and considering nature-based solutions for flood prevention, wherever feasible. The implementation of these measures commenced within the last 2-3 years and will continue over the next 5-7 years.
Carbon Pricing: We have adopted an internal carbon pricing mechanism as a strategic tool to advance our climate commitments and support our transition to a low-carbon economy. This initiative aligns with our broader sustainability objectives and is designed to:
- Drive energy efficiency across our operations
- Encourage investment in low-carbon technologies and infrastructure
- Identify and seize low-carbon business opportunities
- Navigate evolving regulatory frameworks related to climate policy
- Perform cost-benefit analyses to evaluate climate-related initiatives
- Incentivize the integration of climate-related considerations into strategic decision-making
- Shape strategic direction and financial planning through climate insights
- Establish and work toward climate-related goals and policy commitments
Scope and Pricing Structure: Our internal carbon price applies across Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ensuring a comprehensive approach to emissions management. We currently utilize a shadow pricing model, carbon price ranging from ₹1,606 to ₹1,775 per tCO₂e. This price is integrated into selected business decision-making processes to assess the financial implications of carbon emissions and to guide investment prioritization.
The carbon price is used to evaluate the financial implications of carbon-related regulations, support compliance preparedness for mechanisms such as India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), and prioritize investments in renewable energy, alternative fuels, energy efficiency, low-carbon products, and carbon capture technologies.
Net Transition Plan
Our current version of Net-Zero Transition Plan is aligned with the GCCA 2050 Cement and Concrete Industry Roadmap for Net-Zero Concrete and the Paris Agreement objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. We are committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and have established SBTi-validated near-term emissions reduction targets. We have also established targets to achieve a 30% Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) and 60% green power (WHRS+RE) consumption by 2030 and to increase the share of renewable energy by 30% by 2030.
Our transition plan is anchored in the CO-CREATE sustainability strategy and its key pillars of Climate & Energy and Circular Economy. It incorporates targets for almost all decarbonization levers across Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. Key actions include increasing clinker substitution using slag and fly ash, enhancing alternative fuel and raw material utilization, increasing renewable and green power consumption, expanding waste heat recovery systems, improving energy efficiency, developing low-carbon products such as Geopolymer and LC3 Cement, and advancing carbon capture and utilization technologies.
We support implementation of our transition plan through planned investments in renewable energy, waste heat recovery systems, alternative fuel infrastructure, low-carbon product innovation, and CCUS pilot projects. “Our CO₂ emissions reduction is financially material, as it is directly linked to approximately ₹568 crore of sustainability-linked financing tied to our Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) targets.”
Stakeholder engagement is an integral part of our transition plan. We actively collaborate with suppliers, customers, research institutions, policymakers, and industry associations to accelerate decarbonisation across the value chain. We are members of several initiatives, including the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), RE100, EV100, EP100, UN Global Compact, and Xynteo’s Build Ahead Coalition, and partner with leading academic institutions on low-carbon product development, carbon capture technologies, and climate innovation projects.
Based on our climate risk assessment and scenario analysis, we have developed a context-specific adaptation approach that includes drainage and watershed management, additional natural ventilation, conducting water risk assessments, implementing biodiversity management plans, and considering nature-based solutions for flood prevention. We target to become 5 times water positive by 2030. We are also enhancing site resilience through infrastructure improvements, flood mitigation measures, digital logistics monitoring, diversified sourcing strategies, and operational controls to address heat stress and extreme weather events. Climate risks are integrated into our enterprise risk management framework, reviewed to enhance the resilience of our assets, employees, communities, and supply chain.
We also recognize the social implications of the low-carbon transition and are guided by the JSW Group’s Just Transition Policy, which promotes an inclusive and equitable transition through workforce development (upskilling and reskilling), stakeholder engagement, sustainable livelihoods, and community resilience.
Policy Advocacy
We have a defined framework and management approach towards administering our lobbying activities and trade
association memberships. The association and participation in forums is overlooked by the CEO and the CSO. Our
CSO is also a part of the Board for GCCA in India. We are associated with Cement Manufacturing Association,
GCCA (India and Global) for policy advocacy.
In FY 2024-25, we have paid total membership fees of INR 1.5 crore towards these collaborative initiatives
and platforms. Our top five membership fees include GCCA Global and GCCA India (~ INR 60 lakh), CMA (~ INR 40
lakh), Climate Group (INR 12 lakh) and Xynteo’s Build Ahead Initiative (~ INR 12.5 lakh).
We are partnering and supporting on topics such as decarbonization of the built environment in partnership
with various organizations as listed above. As part of our initiatives towards circular economy, we are
constantly communicating and partnering with the International Council for Circular Economy. In addition to
this, we are working closely with engineering colleges, engaging students for sustainable construction. We
regularly monitor and review our practices and initiatives in order to align with the Paris Agreement.
