Getting the numbers right: a database of energy performance and carbon dioxide emissions for the cement industry

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Cement Sustainability Initiative's (CSI) global cement database, ‘Getting The Numbers Right’ (GNR), is a voluntary, independently managed carbon dioxide (CO2) and energy performance system that provides annual data on the cement industry. It uses a common protocol for measuring, reporting and analysing data, allowing the industry and policy-makers to assess the influence of kiln technologies, fuel selection, plant location and other variables on emissions management. This article introduces the GNR system and describes how it has been implemented. It outlines some of the trends in CO2 emissions and energy use from the global cement industry that are revealed by the GNR data. Finally, GNR is compared with other global reporting schemes, and some of its impacts on cement companies and the wider industry are considered, notably in the context of sector-specific greenhouse gas mitigation activities.