For people outside the construction industry, it comes as a big surprise to learn that concrete is the second most-consumed material in the world after water. While it may sound outrageous, it makes sense – concrete is seemingly everywhere you look in the built environment, from roads and bridges to buildings, dams, and waterways.
And the industry is massive. More than 600,000 professionals are employed in the cement and concrete ecosystem, which generates more than $100 Billion into the United States economy every year. That breadth makes it an ideal starting point to effect change towards a more sustainable future built environment.
Manufacturing cement – the primary ingredient in concrete – does emit carbon into the atmosphere. It’s one of many contributors to climate change. But now, cement manufacturers in the United States are taking steps to curtail those emissions, and ultimately, to reach a carbon neutral status over the next quarter century.
PCA, the Portland Cement Association, in association with leaders in the United States cement and concrete industry, is taking this initiative into action with the Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality. It’s a multi-layered plan that directly addresses how various role players in the industry can reduce emissions while continuing to meet national demand for the world’s most durable and sustainable building material, all by 2050.
Across the entire cement-to-concrete-to-construction value chain, there are actions, technologies and supporting policies that can help meet and even accelerate this audacious goal.
At the Cement Plant
Replacing raw materials with recycled and decarbonated materials can reduce and even eliminate CO2 emissions from the processing stage. More importantly, lower-carbon cement mixes using existing and alternative materials can lead to both short- and long-term carbon reduction. Portland Limestone Cement, an existing low-carbon blend, reduces clinker consumption and decreases carbon emissions. Many plants are integrating more energy-efficient improvements to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted for each ton of raw product. These are achievable short-term goals that are already paying dividends.
At the Design and Building Phase
Architects, engineers, and construction enterprises can all contribute to a lower carbon future by considering building needs more specifically, improving design specifications to be more performance-oriented, and using only the necessary materials and avoiding excess emissions. Using lower-carbon or renewable fuels for trucks and transportation and onsite machinery has an immediate and direct effect on everyday emissions. And increasing the use of recycled materials diverts additional landfill waste and improves overall financial efficiencies across the built environment.
Embracing a Future with Less Carbon
Concrete structures are inherently durable and long-lasting, and generally require less frequent maintenance than other materials. If a concrete building is being demolished to make way for a new structure, the concrete can be recycled, which limits the use of additional raw materials and the resulting production emissions. Further, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings can cut emissions that result from heating and cooling systems. Researching and investing in emerging technologies that capture carbon before it is emitted and reusing it for another purpose or storing it - commonly referred to as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) - is a longer-term goal but can produce measurably larger gains.
The cement industry is already taking important steps and exciting ideas have emerged. But in order to succeed, PCA and cement manufacturers are asking the entire concrete construction value chain to help reach this goal by re-thinking their roles, setting their own bars higher, and advocating for the regulatory and legislative policies needed to reach carbon neutrality.
To find ways to get involved in this exciting and important initiative, learn more about the mission at www.cementprogress.com
