ACC Limited, a subsidiary of Holcim Group, has signed the business ambition for the 1.5 degree celsius pledge and becomes the first company in the Indian construction sector to sign the net-zero pledge with 2030 intermediate targets approved by the science-based target initiative (SBTi). ACC has joined the race to zero campaign of the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) and has its 2030 carbon emission reduction targets approved by the SBTi. ACC partnered with the carbon disclosure project (CDP) India's SBTi incubator program to develop its science-based targets. Targets aligned with the reductions needed to limit warming to well below two degree celsius were approved by ACC's SBTi. By 2030, ACC aims to reduce scope one greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 21.3% per ton of cementitious material and scope 2 GHG emissions 48.4% per tonne of cementitious material. ACC Limited, MD and CEO, ACC Sridhar Balakrishnan, said that the company continuously aims to become a responsible and sustainable company by implementing calibrated strategies to reach sustainability goals and objectives. Taking this step forward, ACC has now entered the group of global companies leading towards an ambitious low carbon economy with approved science-based targets. With these targets, ACC aims to decrease its carbon dioxide intensity in cement operations from 511 kg in 2018 to 409 kg carbon dioxide per tonne of cementitious material by 2030. ACC has adopted various steps to decrease carbon dioxide emissions, such as decreasing the clinker factor, improving the thermal substitution rate (TSR), decreasing thermal and electrical energy intensity, implementing a waste heat recovery system (WHRS), and improving the renewable energy consumption rate, and introducing new technologies. In 2020 with cementitious material of 493 kg carbon dioxide per ton, ACC performance is between the lowest specific carbon dioxide emissions in the country. ACC will continue to develop low-carbon products and sustainable solutions through its proactive approach. Image Source Also read: Construction groups unite to hit net zero target with carbon reporting rules