Efforts are being made by the management of Dangote Cement Plc to reduce the company’s carbon emissions by 29 per cent in the coming years.
Within four years, the cement maker has co-processed over 1.5 million tonnes of alternative fuels, significantly lowering its carbon footprint, underscoring its commitment to cutting carbon emissions, enhancing energy security, and setting a benchmark for sustainable industrialization across Africa.
The chief executive of Dangote Cement, Mr Arvind Pathak, said the company has been converting industrial, agricultural, and municipal wastes into energy as part of its strategies to shift to alternative fuel.
Speaking at the Africa CemTrade Summit in Ghana, he said since 2021 when the firm embarked on energy diversification, it has successfully deployed 15 alternative fuel systems across its plants, achieving up to 40 per cent thermal substitution in operations across its plants in sub-Saharan Africa especially in Senegal, Zambia, and South Africa.
He noted that central to the green transition programme was the investment in compressed natural gas (CNG) logistics, which have seen company acquired over 3,000 CNG trucks and 1,000 dual-fuel vehicles deployed, significantly reducing emissions and transport costs, as it aims for a fully CNG-powered fleet in Nigeria by 2026.
According to him, Dangote Cement’s sustainability strategy is further supported by its digital transformation drive, which has introduced systems such as the Distributor Management System (DMS), Transport Management System (TMS), and Electronic Proof of Delivery (e-POD), enhancing transparency, route optimisation, and supply chain efficiency.
At the programme themed Sustainable Innovation in the Sub-Saharan Africa Cement Distribution Value Chain, Mr Pathak emphasised that Dangote Cement which has expanded its footprint across eleven countries, with a production capacity of 55 million tonnes annually, is leading a transformative shift towards sustainability in Africa’s cement distribution sector, combining environmental stewardship with profitability pointing out that sustainability sits at the core of the company’s business model, influencing every aspect from production to logistics.
According to him, the company has mapped more than 65,000 retail outlets in Nigeria and continues to expand across key regional trade corridors. Through its Customer Truck Empowerment Scheme (CTES), Dangote Cement has distributed over 4,000 trucks to transport partners, creating jobs and improving reliability in cement delivery.
In 2024 alone, the company invested over N12.4 billion in community development projects across its host countries, a fourfold increase from the previous year, covering education, healthcare, infrastructure, and youth empowerment.
“Dangote Cement Plc has taken the lead in driving sustainable transformation across the Sub-Saharan Africa’s cement value chain. We are reaffirming our commitment to innovation and responsible growth.
“Sustainability has never been an afterthought for us; it is central to how we grow, innovate, and operate,” he stated. For Africa’s industrial future to remain viable, sustainability must make economic sense. Our strategy ensures profitability while protecting the planet,” Mr Pathak stated.
The Dangote Cement CEO said the Company has over the past two decades, Dangote Cement expanded from a local producer into a continental leader, operating in eleven countries with an installed capacity of 55 million tonnes per annum. Beyond scale, Pathak said, the company’s distinction lies in its deliberate shift towards lower-carbon operations, contributing to Africa’s sustainable industrialisation.
“We recognised early on that sustainability would shape the future of manufacturing. Our investments in process optimisation, cleaner fuels, and advanced energy systems are helping us reduce waste, improve efficiency, and build stronger competitiveness. We are proving that economic performance and climate responsibility can move together,” he disclosed.