In CERENA's 20 years seminar series, this month, Professor Maria João Pereira receives Célia Marques, Vice-President of SIMAGRA – Portuguese Association of the Mineral Resources Industry to talk about " Road to 2050 – Roadmap for the Decarbonization of the Natural Stone Sector".

ASSIMAGRA leads the Road to 2050 – Roadmap for the Decarbonization of the Natural Stone Sector, the only national plan specifically dedicated to this sector, with the aim of guiding the path towards carbon neutrality. In recent years, the natural stone sector has achieved significant progress, both in terms of innovation in its applications and in strengthening its international positioning in high value-added projects. Despite this progress, significant challenges remain, particularly those related to climate change and high contextual costs, such as those arising from the energy crisis, which affect the competitiveness of companies. In this context, it is essential to increase energy efficiency and adopt more innovative and sustainable business models. The decarbonization of the sector, covering both extraction and processing phases, plays a central role in this strategy, promoting emission reductions throughout the entire production cycle. It is essential to promote a technological and managerial paradigm shift in order to empower companies to actively contribute to a carbon-neutral economy.