Development of a Decarbonization Roadmap in the Cement Sector through Advanced Technology Upgradation and Enhanced Standards.

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), on behalf of Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) invites qualified interested firms to submit Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in the upcoming solicitation for provision of technical assistance for the development of a decarbonization roadmap in the cement sector through advanced technology upgradation and ehnaced standards. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on behalf of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) requires the services of an institution to deliver the technical assistance as approved by National Designated Entity from Zimbabwe. The objective of this Technical Assistance is to develop a comprehensive and endorsed national decarbonization roadmap for the cement and concrete industry in Zimbabwe together with effective Monitoring, Verification and Enforcement (MV&E) of decarbonization actions and cement standard updating. As of 2024, Zimbabwe cement manufacturers have an installed capacity of approximately 2,600,000 tonnes of cement annually, against a national demand of roughly 1,600,000 tonnes. Yet, over the last years, production and demand was fluctuating, leading to temporary supply shortages and rising prices. Overall, there is an increasing demand of cement and concrete linked to urbanization and infrastructure development. A new 1 billion USD cement plant project has been launched in 2024, and other manufacturers are investing in refurbishment projects to further increase production capacities. Industry related GHG emissions have been steadily increasing without effective tracking and systematic reduction actions. In 2020, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) of Zimbabwe ordered Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe to cease operations due to a discharge of abnormal dust emissions from the kiln stack into the environment, until concerns are rectified. This is not a one-off case, but the overall infrastructure lacks important environmentally friendly upgrades, and the governance and monitoring, evaluation and enforcement (MV&E) requires significant improvement. In order to guide the decarbonization of the cement and concrete industry in Zimbabwe, a national decarbonization roadmap is required that identifies and prioritizes effective technology and policy levers. Furthermore, the introduction or updating of cement standards is to be conducted. The collaboration of the public and private sector in the development of such a roadmap will be key to its success. On the path to decarbonizing cement and concrete at a national level, Zimbabwe is confronted with challenges related to a lack of transparency on economically viable decarbonization options, of standards and incentives, and of governance. These challenges are further detailed below: ● Decarbonization options: Multiple decarbonization options are available with some being technically mature and others still in an R&D phase, and with a higher and lower CO2 reduction potential. Countries require transparency on viable options for the national context as the choice strongly depends on production volumes, technology setup and raw material. ● Standards and incentives: Outdated or a lack of standards and policies for cement and concrete products, but also for energy performance of buildings lead to excess material usage, energy inefficiency and a lack of transparency. ● Governance: A clear and actionable decarbonization roadmap, as well as monitoring, verification, and enforcement (MV&E) with regards to transparency on CO2 emissions and reduction targets is fundamental for the path to decarbonize cement and concrete. ● Stakeholder alignment: Decarbonizing the cement and concrete industry requires extensive dialogue between regulators and the industry in order to agree on GHG emissions reduction targets, a technology implementation roadmap and related policies and incentives that are required Some of the expected outputs are: 1. Project Management. 2. Coordination of a Project Working Group. 3. Analysis of the current national cement and concrete industry. 4. Evaluation of appropriate low-carbon cement technology options and decarbonization levers. 5. Development of a national decarbonization cement and concrete roadmap. 6. Operationalization of roadmap. 7. Updating of cement standards. The complete details of the requirement will be provided in the tender documents that will be issued to bidders after this request for EOI is closed.