THE TRUE COST OF THE CEMENT, STEEL AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES

In the current economic system, the EU27’s cement, steel and chemical industries provide many products
to the EU27 economy, such as materials used in construction and the automotive sector. Simultaneously, the energy-intensive cement, steel and chemical industries cause large damages to people and our planet.
Contrary to the ‘polluters pay’ principle, the costs of these social and environmental damages are not paid for by the industries. Rather, social and environmental costs caused by the EU’s cement, steel and chemical industries are born by society and future generations.

In this report Commissioned by the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament (Greens/EFA), True Price performs a true cost assessment of the EU27’s cement, steel and chemical industries for the year 2019. The report looks at both the industries at large and their direct and upstream impacts. Moreover, this report dives into the main polluting value chain step of each industry and evaluates the external cost of that step and of a more sustainable alternative production method.