BEF 2023: At the largest meeting on energy, the most important topic was discussed – decarbonization

Global warming and climate change are the inevitable reason why the entire construction industry should be geared towards the goal of fully decarbonizing its business operations.

Dimitrije Knjeginjić, director of Lafarge Serbia (Photo: Lafarge)

The decarbonization strategy is one of the key topics for Lafarge Serbiaabout which its representatives had the opportunity to speak at this year’s Belgrade Energy Forum BEF 2023, of which this company is the general sponsor.

Dimitrije Knjeginjić, director of Lafarge Serbia, spoke about how Lafarge, as an energy-intensive company, harmonizes business with the requirements of low-carbon development. In addition to this topic, he emphasized the importance of intensive cooperation with the regulatory bodies of the Republic of Serbia in order to enable such companies to get off to a good start creating conditions to more easily welcome the introduction of a cross-border tax for CO₂ (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) which enters into force on January 1, 2026.

– I am glad that I am participating in an event like this because the topics that are in front of us are extremely important for companies coming from sectors that the European Union has quite hit with its measures. It is about 6 sectors: Aluminum industry, fertilizers, cement industry, steel, hydrogen. That’s all industries that are terribly burdened by intensive energy consumption and we are looking for a solution to solve this problem in the coming years, said Dimitrije Knjeginjić.

– What is key for us, an old topic in a new guise, alternative fuels. And to reduce the footprint, because all alternative fuels are better than traditional ones. One new metaphor is to try to introduce the Lego system in the circular economy. When children build a building from Lego blocks, you buy two or three packages of those blocks, when they build an airport, they dismantle those blocks and build an airport, and that’s the model we need, Knjeginjić points out.

– A model that will return everything that makes up one building to one building. Without it, there would be no industry as we know it today. There are answers and solutions. Our company has a very wide range of solutions in that domain where we need absolute support from the Ministry of Environment, Mining and Energy and I really think that we will get them because our future in the industry is at stake. And not only in the industry, if we look more broadly, then it is also a problem with the education of future personnel because they will have nowhere to develop, concludes Dimitrije Knjeginjić.

A condition for successful decarbonization in Serbia is the direct cooperation of the state and business sectors (Photo: Lafarge)

Marko Muhadinović, manager of Geocycle Serbia, closed this year’s forum with a panel on the topic of best corporate practices in the decarbonization process for #netzero future! He presented examples of good practice in the cement industry, illustrating how the Holcim group, to which Lafarge belongs, is implementing a decarbonisation strategy.

The potentials that exist in the cement industry on the way to decarbonization are primarily related to construction waste and alternative fuels. Today, we are able to give new value to construction waste, to recycle it and return it to cement, thereby permanently preserving natural reserves and directly influencing the drastic reduction of CO₂ show. Thanks to innovations and continuous search for new solutions, today is cement with 0% CO emissions₂ our reality.

During the Belgrade Energy Forum, representatives of the Lafarge company had the opportunity to talk with experts in the field of energy, and the conclusion is clear – the condition for successful decarbonization in Serbia is the direct cooperation of the state and economic sectors.

The regulatory bodies of the Republic of Serbia have a key role to enable the implementation of innovative strategies in reducing CO through the adjustment of regulations and the adoption of new laws₂ emission.

There are solutions, we have the knowledge, now is the opportunity to join forces and invest together let’s ensure a bright future for generations to comethey say from the Lafarge company and note that only together can we make this world a better place to live.