World concrete producers target zero carbon by 2050
Concrete and cement producers from around the world have declared their intent to strive to make their industry carbon neutral in just 30 years.
A statement released by the Global Cement and Concrete and Association (GCCA) on August 31 signals the producers’ intent to drive down the industry’s carbon dioxide footprint and make their operations carbon neutral by 2050.
"Concrete has a vital role to play in addressing the need for sustainable communities and prosperity,” says GCCA chief executive Dinah McLeod. “It is a key ingredient of infrastructure, homes, clean water and community resilience as our climate changes. Crucially, it will also help facilitate the transition to clean/green energy. We believe this journey will be challenging but are fully committed to working together with our members, partners and stakeholders across the industry and supply chain to achieve this ambition."
The 2050 Climate Ambition statement signals the first time that producers from around the world have declared their shared intent to realize carbon neutrality. The statement identifies the essential criteria that will be required to achieve carbon neutral concrete, including: reducing and eliminating energy-related emissions, reducing process emissions through new technologies and deployment of carbon capture, more efficient use of concrete, reuse and recycling of concrete and buildings, and harnessing concrete's ability to absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere.
Concrete plays a huge role in the building sector worldwide. It is the most readily used construction material. By 2050, nearly 70 percent of the world’s population of 10 billion people is expected to live in urban environments. Cities naturally require concrete construction in the form of office buildings, housing, transportation facilities and utility infrastructure.
According to the GCCA, concrete plays a key role in sustainability. It is recyclable. It provides thermal mass in buildings and rigidity in road construction—both of which reduce demand for energy. It is a highly versatile building material that designers and constructors can use to design and construct innovative structures.
Since 1990, GCCA members have collectively reduced their carbon emissions per tonne by more than 19 percent, and have increased their use of alternative fuels by a factor of nine.
The companies are currently developing a 2050 concrete roadmap that will set out the detailed actions and milestones that the industry will enact in order to achieve its ambition. This will include working across the built environment value chain to deliver the vision of carbon neutral concrete in a circular economy, whole life context.
The 2050 concrete roadmap is due to be published in the second half of 2021.
"Ambitious business and industry action led leadership is vital to achieving the climate targets that the world needs to survive and thrive,” says Anthony Hobley, executive director of the World Economic Forum's Mission Possible Platform. “We know that concrete is so important to many of the challenges humanity faces, but we also know it needs to be delivered more sustainably. We are delighted by the important step of articulating the ambition for carbon neutral concrete and look forward to working with this industry collaboration to deliver the detailed pathway and tools necessary towards achieving a net-zero economy."