Labour must shore up materials security or fall short of infrastructure strategy ambitions

The wait is almost over for the government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy and it will not be long before UK firms will need to start acting on the proposals contained within it. With the recent spotlight on tariffs and the uncertainties faced by industries such as steel, questions are emerging over where we get our materials from – and whether we will have the building blocks we need to make Labour’s growth ambitions a reality.

Cement and concrete are undeniably building blocks – and key ones for the construction industry. They are essential materials as enablers of growth. Without them, we cannot build – whether that be water and energy infrastructure, roads, bridges, railways, airports or other projects that underpin the economy.

Despite this, we have seen an increasing reliance on the supply of cement from overseas, weakening our materials security as a result. Cement imports into the UK have tripled over the past 20 years and now make up 32% of the market.

That is because UK producers are trying to compete with one arm tied behind their backs. Grappling with the highest industrial electricity costs in the world and facing uneven carbon taxation, they face significant regulatory costs that their peers overseas just do not have.

As a result, the cement industry is not just treading water – it is sliding towards deindustrialisation. Given how essential cement is to critical infrastructure, this fact should be ringing alarm bells.

Laying the foundations for infrastructure delivery

Whether it is delivering renewable energy infrastructure or supporting the grid upgrades that enable electrification, industry is on the road to decarbonisation by 2050. The successful delivery of this ambition is dependent on reliable access to cement. We simply do not have a viable alternative to it at the moment.

Making progress towards the UK’s clean energy goals will require the provision of new wind farms and nuclear plants, for example. Our data estimates that achieving Labour’s targets for offshore wind will require up to 2,250 tonnes of cement per floating offshore wind turbine.

Each cement worker adds £191,000 of value annually, nearly three times the national average

Sizewell C, the nuclear plant recently granted £14.2bn in additional funding, will require up to five million tonnes of concrete and up to 1.3 million tonnes of cement for it to be built on the Suffolk coast, with these materials critical to the reactor’s construction. The dependable, uninterrupted provision of cement will therefore be key to achieving net zero and implementing an effective infrastructure strategy.

Since cement is such a key element in ensuring the strategy’s success, why should we import it from overseas? The government has a choice: it can allow this critical foundational industry to fall into a managed decline, or it could offer a welcome boost to a sector that promises to punch above its weight.

Not only would it mean secure access to cement, but it is an industry full of well paid, highly skilled jobs and is one of the most productive sectors in the UK. Each cement worker adds £191,000 of value annually, nearly three times the national average.

Safeguarding security of supply by protecting domestic industry

The government’s recent strategic defence review is a reminder that it is not just energy infrastructure that depends on materials availability. Cement is the backbone of not only climate adaptation but national security, and is vital to fortifying military infrastructure.

The pandemic showed just how vulnerable strategic supply chains can be. At a time of geopolitical instability, dependence on overseas imports does not guarantee certainty of supply; reliance on UK cement does.

We are calling for the creation of a public procurement policy that puts domestic production first. This would restore producers’ confidence in the UK market

To reduce the UK’s exposure to a potential cost and availability risk for critical infrastructure, we are calling for the creation of a public procurement policy that puts domestic production first. This would restore producers’ confidence in the UK market.

As 75 per cent of supply chain purchases for cement come from UK businesses, it would be a missed opportunity not to prioritise domestic procurement, thus reinvesting money back into the economy and keeping high quality, regional jobs on our shores.

Ensuring decarbonisation does not mean deindustrialisation

UK cement producers have made impressive progress towards decarbonisation and they want to go further, but they need policy support to help them on this journey. At present, the rapid rise in imports means the UK has simply begun moving its carbon emissions elsewhere, rather than lowering them.

Government data shows that cement is the most vulnerable sector to carbon leakage – even more so than steel. Because of this, the UK risks slowly losing control over the decarbonisation of the materials it uses.

The introduction of a robust, watertight carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) would help to minimise this, by making sure that importers pay the same as domestic producers for their carbon emissions. This would not only plug the gap through which emissions are escaping, but it would help to level the playing field for UK suppliers.

Without a thriving cement industry, the infrastructure strategy will not be protected from potential disruptions due to supply chain bottlenecks or geopolitical issues. On top of this, failing to seize the opportunity to reinvest in this foundational industry means the strategy risks falling short of its potential to deliver growth more widely across the UK economy.

With the right policy support, however, it can help to revitalise a key British sector and kickstart a positive cycle of national growth.

Diana Casey is executive director, energy and climate change, cement and lime at the Mineral Products Association