Production of cement in Great Britain 2001-2019

In 2019, plants in Great Britain produced roughly 9.08 million metric tons of cement. Production of cement in Great Britain decreased significantly between 2007 and 2009 and though figures increased again slowly, volume have not reached the levels seen prior to 2009.
Used as a binder, cement is an integral material to the UK construction industry as well as construction industries all around the world. Cement was known as far back as the ancient Roman and Greek civilizations.

Leading cement producing countries

China remains the world’s leading cement producing nation by far, manufacturing some 2.2 billion metric tons in 2019 alone. This was nearly seven times the output of India, the world's second largest cement producer, and 242 times as much as the annual production in Great Britain that year.

Environmental impact of cement

Cement and cement-based concrete have a hugely negative effect on the environment. Manufacturing processes in the United Kingdom were responsible for emitting nearly 7.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018. Not only a great polluter, cement’s use as a construction material also has serious implications for temperatures within a city by trapping heat across vast swaths of urban surface areas, while non-permeable concrete pavement contributes to soil erosion and flooding.