SR68 Environmental impacts associated with New Zealand cement manufacture (2007)

This report details the environmental impacts associated with the extraction, transportation and manufacture of cement in New Zealand using a methodology originating from a similar (but more detailed) Canadian study. This is the first in a series of reports examining the environmental impact of a variety of building materials, based on truncated life cycle analysis.

Findings from the obtained information:

• In the extraction of the raw materials, the atmospheric emissions are higher in New Zealand for all the gases measured: CO₂, SO₂, NOₓ, VOCs, CH₄ and CO.
• New Zealand's atmospheric emission figures for raw material transportation are similar to Canada's for all gases monitored, with the exception of NOₓ . This is because of the reliance in some regions of Canada on (diesel-based) long-range rail freight, which results in the emission of high amounts of NO₂ compared to other modes of transport.
• New Zealand's total embodied energy intensity (extraction/transportation/production) for cement is 8% higher than Canada's. Only in the transportation component for New Zealand is the comparative figure lower.
• The level of other New Zealand cement-related environmental outputs, such as liquid effluents (from quarry water, stormwater run-off and the cement plant) and cement kiln dust, is unknown.