Carbon Capture and Utilisation/StorageProcess that capture CO² emissions from industrial sources and either reuses or stores it so it will not enter the atmosphere.

Carbon Dust: Carbon dust is used by cement kilns as an alternative fuel. It is a by-product of aluminium smelting and consists primarily of petroleum coke fines, aluminium, sodium and fluoride.

Capillary Space: A term used to describe air bubbles that have become embedded in cement paste.

Cement: A calcium alumina silicate with hydraulic properties that enable it to act as a binder. It is a key ingredient in concrete.

Cement-aggregate ratio: The ratio of cement to aggregate in a mixture, as determined by weight or volume.

Cement content/Cement factor: A quantity of cement contained in a unit volume of concrete or mortar, ordinarily expressed as pounds, barrels, or bags per cubic yard.

Cement paste: TCement plus water. When the mass has reacted with water and developed strength it is called hardened cement paste.

Cementitious Material: Materials that have similar properties to cement and that can be used to supplement for clinker or cement, for example slags and fly ash.

Cement Slurry: A thin, watery cement mixture for pumping or for use as a wash over a surface..

CKD: Cement Kiln Dust. Dust extracted from long-dry and wet-kiln system de-ducting units, typically made up of partially calcined kiln feed material.

Clay: Type of soil consisting of very fine particles.

Circular Economy: AIming at minimising waste and making the most of resources. It also means designing for circularity.

Clinker: The artificial calcium silicate rock formed during the heating of raw materials in a cement kiln. Clinker is ground with other materials such as gypsum to form cement.

Clinker factor: The percentage of clinker in cement (according to the WBCSD-CSI Cement CO² and Energy Protocol)

Compression: Forces acting inwardly on a body.

Concrete: A combination of cement, sand, water and aggregate that bind together to form a material with high compressive strength.

Construction and Demolition Waste: CDW arises from activities such as the construction and maintenance of buildings and civil infrastructure, total or partial demolition of buildings and civil infrastructure. It consists of numerous materials, including concrete, bricks, gypsum, wood, glass, metals, plastic, asbestos and excavated soil, many of which can be recycled.

Co-processing: Using the cement manufacturing process to recycle, recover or treat waste, while simultaneously manufacturing cement in a single combined operation.

CSR Spend: Social investments which are based on long-term strategies, implemented in collaboration with specialized local or international partners, and address clear needs in the communities where we operate. Areas of focus include health, education, shelter and infrastructure, environment and local employment creation.

Cure: To keep concrete moist during initial hardening.

Deformation: The process of changing the dimensions of a structure by applying a force.

Demolition Timber: Used timber from construction and/or demolition projects. The cement industry is able to utilise this material as an alternative fuel source..

Direct beneficiaries: Those who benefit directly from a social investment project's objective and directly participate in a project. All those employed by a project, or those who will use its output can be categorized as direct beneficiaries.

Direct Emissions: Emissions from sources that are owned or operated by the reporting entity.

Dormancy period: Time period that concrete retains it workability.

Dry Process: A modern kiln technology that accepts the raw material as a fine, dry powder ready for calcining and clinkerisation.

Elasticity: The ability of a material to return to its original shape after being stretched.

Employee turnover: The number of employees leaving the organization in the reporting period as a percentage of employees at year end.

Fly Ash: Fly ash is a by-product of the combustion of pulverized coal in power generation plants. This material is used as both as an alternative raw material to form clinker, as well as an addition to clinker during the grinding process.

Forms: Holders in which concrete is placed to harden.

Fossil fuels: Non-renewable carbon-based fuels traditionally used by the cement industry, including coal and oil.

Greenhouse gas: It typically referring to carbon dioxide (CO²), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), fluorocarbons (PFCs/HFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).

Gypsum: Calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO4.2H2O added to cement to regulate setting.

Hazardous waste: Hazardous waste comprises all forms of solid or liquid waste (excluding wastewater) as defined by the legislation in the country in which a site operates.

Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA): A HRIA is conducted with a risk mapping workshop for the full local Exco team. This is followed by consultations at sites with a broad range of stakeholders, including employees, contractors, trades unions, community members, local authorities, and NGOs. The prioritized recommendations are presented to the country CEO and a detailed local action plan is developed. Holders in which concrete is placed to harden.

Human Rights Self-Assessment (HRSA): An internal process undertaken by a Group company to identify social risks and opportunities. These risks are prioritized and action plans developed and monitored to address any issues arising.

Hydration: The reaction of cement with water to form a chemical compound.

Hydraulic Cement: A variety of cement engineered to harden under water.

Indirect beneficiaries: A person, group of persons or organization which has no direct contact with a social investment project, but which benefit as a result of improvements made to the direct beneficiaries.

Kiln: High temperature oven.

Limestone: Mineral rock of calcium carbonate.

Lost Time Injury: A work-related injury, after which the affected person cannot work for at least one full shift or full working day any time after the shift or day on which the incident causing the work-related injury occurred, regardless of whether such person is scheduled to work.

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate: The number of lost time injuries (LTI) per million hours worked.

Mineral components: Cement constituents which are not derived from clinker production. They include blast furnace slag, fly ash, natural pozzolan and limestone.

Mortar: Cement paste mixed with sand.

Nitrogen oxides: A generic term for the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution, namely nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). NOx is formed in the combustion of nitrogen contained in the fuels as well as in conditions where nitrogen and oxygen are present at high temperatures as is the case in cement kilns.

Non-hazardous waste: Non-hazardous waste comprises all forms of solid or liquid waste (excluding wastewater) as defined by the legislation in the country in which a site operates.

Occupational illness: A condition or disorder not resulting from an injury, but caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with a person’s job or employment.

Occupational Illness Frequency Rate: The number of Occupational Illnesses (OI) per million hours worked.

Occupational injury: Injury resulting from a work-related accident/incident or from a single exposure occurring within, and attributable to the work environment.

Ordinary Portland cement: Cement that consists of approximately 95% ground clinker and 5% gypsum.

Pozzolan cement: Volcanic rock powdered and used in making hydraulic cement.

Porosity: The amount of empty space in concrete.

Portland cement: A cement consisting predominantly of calcium silicates which reacts with water to form a hard mass.

Quarry: A quarry is an open surface where stone, rocks, construction aggregate, sand, gravel, clay limestone is excavated from the ground.

Raw meal: A combination of low and high grade limestone, shale and/or other raw materials. These materials are processed through a mill to reach a desired fineness. This product is then used as kiln feed to produce clinker.

Ready-mix concrete: Concrete is a well-dosed mix of cement, aggregates, water and admixtures. It is one of the most widely used building materials in the world.

Recarbonation: The process where CO² is absorbed by concrete during its use and end-of-life phase. The amount absorbed is significant but less than the total emitted in cement production.

Recycled aggregates: Recycled aggregates come from reprocessing materials that have previously been used in construction. Examples of recycled aggregate include recycled concrete from construction and demolition waste material and railway ballast.

Retardants: Admixtures that increase the setting time by slowing down hydration.

Secondary aggregates: Secondary aggregates are usually by-products of other industrial processes that have not previously been used in construction. Examples of manufactured secondary aggregates are pulverised fuel ash and metallurgical slags. Natural secondary aggregates include china clay stent and slate aggregate.

Set: Transformation of cement paste or concrete from a fluid-like consistency to a stiff mass.

Slag: A by-product of the metallurgical ore refining industry. The slag is then ground to produce CRH slag, an environmentally friendly cementitious material..

Slump test: Test used to determine workability.

Specific gross emissions: The total amount of CO² emitted per tonne of cementitious material.

Specific net emissions: The net (gross emissions minus credits for indirect savings, such as use of alternative fuels) CO² emissions per tonne of cementitious material.

Sulfur dioxide: It is released naturally by volcanic activity and is also produced as a by-product of the burning of fossil fuels or natural raw materials containing sulfur compounds.

Tension: The stress resulting from elongation.

Thermal Substitution Rate: Proportionate heat substitution of traditional fossil fuel by using alternative fuels such as waste and biomass.

Total Injury Frequency Rate: The number of injuries per million hours worked. It includes any injuries causing death, lost time, modified work duty and injuries resulting in medical treatment. TIFR doesn’t include first aid.

Volatile Organic Compounds: These are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature. Their high vapor pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and enter the surrounding air, a trait known as volatility.

Workability: How easily fresh concrete can be placed and consolidated in forms.