en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officially released the country's first "Cement and Concrete Decarbonisation Roadmap" on June 29, 2026, making the Philippines the second country in Southeast Asia, after Thailand, to launch such a national-level industry decarbonisation strategy. The roadmap is structured in five-year phases, outlining a decarbonisation pathway covering up to 2050.
The roadmap was drafted under the leadership of the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) and the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, with financial support from the Government of Canada through its Environment and Climate Change Canada, and technical assistance from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). According to CeMAP Executive Director Ray Baja, the roadmap began development in June 2025 and was finalized in May 2026. The roadmap sets quantified emission reduction targets: a 30% reduction in carbon emissions from the baseline year by 2030, and a 50% reduction by 2050.
To achieve these goals, the roadmap proposes a series of strategic measures. In the near to medium term, priorities include promoting low-carbon cement alternatives, increasing the share of renewable energy in cement production, improving energy efficiency, and expanding the use of supplementary cementitious materials. Long-term strategies include deploying carbon capture systems at cement plants. CeMAP stated that the roadmap is a science-based industry decarbonisation guide, aiming to achieve emission reduction targets through a systematic combination of multiple technological pathways.
The Philippine cement industry is one of the country's major carbon emitters. According to Global Cement, the Philippines produced approximately 27 million tonnes of cement in 2024, from an annual production capacity of 53 million tonnes. Prior to the official release of the roadmap, the Philippine cement industry had already begun laying the groundwork for a low-carbon transition. In October 2025, CeMAP launched the Philippine Cement Sustainability Roadmap; in February 2026, Holcim Philippines announced an investment of USD 6.5 million to upgrade its La Union plant, increasing the use of alternative fuels and raw materials to 40%.
The release of this roadmap was supported by the ASEAN Federation of Cement Manufacturers (AFCM) and the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA). AFCM had already released the world's first regional cement decarbonisation roadmap in December 2025. The launch of the Philippine roadmap marks the formal integration of the country's cement industry into the ASEAN regional decarbonisation framework.
