Canada's carbon-cutting crusade

The industry is moving quickly on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Portland-limestone cement (PLC), low carbon concrete, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). It is also working diligently to address the housing shortage as well as making significant investments to modernise infrastructure across Canada. Outside of Canada, the Canadian industry is leading the way through the Cement and Concrete Breakthrough Initiative, and through its continued engagement with the Global Cement and Concrete Association.

Concrete zero

Last year CAC, together with its members and partners in the concrete sector, released its ‘Concrete Zero, Canada’s Cement and Concrete Industry Action Plan to Net-Zero’. This Action Plan shows that emissions reductions (from the 2020 baseline) of 40% by 2030, 59% by 2040, and net zero by 2050 are possible using today’s technologies.

It will take many actions to reach net zero by 2050. The Action Plan is based on the cement and concrete value chain, identifying at each stage where emissions reductions will come from. The plan focuses on the five C’s: clinker, cement, concrete, construction and carbon uptake. There is also a sixth bonus C where additional research and development is needed: CCUS.

EPDs

The Canadian cement and concrete industry has been a leader in the building materials industry on EPDs, confirming its sustainability improvements and ensuring the life cycle environmental impact of its products are independently verified and transparent.

Both the cement and concrete sectors have fully embraced regionally-specific industry-wide average EPDs to quantify and confirm industry improvements in carbon reductions. All cement facilities in Canada have also published facility specific EPDs and an increasing number of concrete producers have as well for specific products including ready-mix, precast, masonry, and pipe. Together, these disclosures place the cement and concrete industry far ahead of industry peers when it comes to environmental transparency.

PLC

With the cement pillar of the association’s Action Plan accounting for 19% of emission reductions on the path to net zero, PLC is one of the most immediate solutions CAC is advocating for to lower the industry’s emissions. PLC is a more sustainable, lower carbon cement that reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 10% while still producing concrete of equivalent performance, including comparable strength and durability, to concrete produced with traditional Portland cement. In use in Europe for over 35 years, PLC is gaining popularity in Canada. Many of CAC’s member cement plants have transitioned to PLC exclusively.

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/special-reports/20092024/canadas-carbon-cutting-crusade/