The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has called on government to favour British-made materials on major public construction projects at a parliamentary reception on 30 June.
The event brought together leading cement producers, MPs, members of the Lords, ministers and government officials to discuss the importance of a secure, reliable cement supply for the country’s building ambitions.
As a main ingredient in concrete, the world’s most used construction material, cement is essential to achieving the government’s housing and infrastructure targets. Speaking at the reception, Henry Tufnell MP noted that cement is fundamental to delivering the homes, clean energy projects and transport networks the UK needs to underpin economic growth. He added that domestic materials production is increasingly a matter of national security and resilience.
Martin Casey, senior director for cement and lime at the Mineral Products Association, said: “We can’t build without cement and based on the government’s ambitious housebuilding and infrastructure goals we’re going to need a lot more of it. It makes sense to channel public investment towards British industry, turbocharging innovation, putting money back into the economy and securing jobs across the UK. Using domestically made materials doesn’t just power growth, it supports resilience and security of supply. Portland cement was invented in Britain over 200 years ago – we have the raw materials and sovereign manufacturing capability to meet demand in this country. Let’s use it.”
Despite its national significance, the cement industry faces serious competitiveness challenges, including sky-high energy costs and uneven carbon taxation. Cement is excluded from the Energy Intensive Industries (EII) Compensation Scheme, leaving domestic producers to battle energy prices much higher than those faced by overseas competitors.
New MPA data shows that climate and energy policies now cost the British cement sector a combined £82 million, almost double that of 2015 (£45 million). This is despite the sector decarbonising faster than the UK economy as a whole – along with the concrete industry, it has cut emissions by 63% since 1990. The £82 million includes network charges and direct and indirect costs from policies such as the Emissions Trading Scheme and Carbon Price Support, which is not expected to be removed until 2028.
The MPA has called for continued backing for carbon capture and storage in cement, which could reduce the sector’s emissions by 75% by 2035, and cut construction emissions by up to 3.8 million tpy of CO2.
Concerns also remain around gaps in the government’s incoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and its ability to genuinely level the playing field between emissions charges for British producers and imports. The MPA has warned that if legislation isn’t robust, it could encourage carbon leakage, offshoring emissions rather than reducing them. Since the EU CBAM was introduced at the start of this year, official figures show that non-EU imports of cement to the UK hit a 10 year high in March 2026, as product was diverted to avoid paying additional European charges.
Martin Casey said: “Cement is a productive, growth generating industry. We need to back this kind of sector and create the conditions for it to thrive, not push it to the brink. We can have a successful, decarbonised British cement industry that underpins construction targets, but we have to act now – creating the fair, stable conditions needed for long term investment.”
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