Abstract

Cement is a widely used construction material, but its production significantly impacts the environment, contributing 5–8% of global CO₂ emissions and releasing pollutants such as particulate matter, NOₓ, SO₂, and heavy metals. Cement manufacturing also consumes large amounts of raw materials and energy, generating solid waste, noise, and wastewater. Strategies to reduce these impacts include short-term measures like bag filters and improved mix designs, medium-term use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, slag, or calcined clay, and long-term solutions like geopolymer cements and carbon capture technologies. If industry, technology, and policy work together, emissions could be reduced by up to 50%, enabling sustainable construction.

Keywords: Cement production, CO₂ emissions, air pollution, Sustainable construction, Geopolymer, Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs), Carbon capture.