CAC, government partnership puts industry on the path to net zero
The federal government and the Cement Association of Canada (CAC) have announced a partnership to drive the industry toward net carbon zero by 2050.
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne signed a joint statement on behalf of the Government of Canada alongside CAC chair Marie Glenn and CAC president and CEO Michael McSweeney.
The partnership—and resulting roadmap—aims to position Canada’s cement and concrete industry to become a global leader in low-carbon cement and concrete production and related clean technologies.
The roadmap will provide industry with guidance on technologies, tools and policies needed to reach net‑zero carbon concrete by 2050, including on:
- supporting the development of a low-carbon emissions supply chain through a data strategy, industrial standards, procurement and promotion;
- coordinating across the sector and government on high-potential research and investments to develop new technologies, products and processes that reduce the amount of carbon released in the production of cement and concrete; and
- engaging stakeholders in government and the private sector to fulfil the vision of global leadership in low-carbon cement manufacturing toward the goal of net-zero carbon concrete.
“Cement and concrete have stood the test of time, laying a literal foundation upon which our communities have grown and prospered. But now our industry must face society’s greatest challenge: climate change,” said McSweeney. “With Canada forecasted to use at least 55 million tons of cement over the next five years, this collaboration is a significant step forward, helping to position Canada as a global leader by supporting the technology, tools and policies needed to realize our ambition of net-zero concrete by 2050.”
Canada already has recognized leadership in technologies that can significantly reduce GHGs in the concrete and cement sector such as carbon capture, usage and storage, alternative fuels and energy efficiency.
CarbonCure Technologies, a Carbon XPRIZE winner and Global Cleantech 100 recipient, for example, has developed a unique technology to permanently store carbon in concrete. Additionally, British Columbia–based Svante is a recognized leader in carbon capture technology that is partnering with industry, including cement producers, to develop cost-competitive commercial-scale solutions to trap carbon produced from industrial flue gas emissions.
Clean technologies such as these contributed more than $28.8 billion to the Canadian economy in 2019, including the export of about $7.05 billion worth of clean technology goods and services. The cleantech industry also employs more than 210,000 people.
The government-CAC partnership establishes an industry-government working group to support the sector’s decarbonization. The group will be led by the CAC, the National Research Council of Canada and the Standards Council of Canada, in collaboration with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
In keeping with its Greening Government Strategy, the federal government is showing leadership on the procurement of low‑carbon building materials, including cement and concrete products. The strategy supports the government’s commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and includes an interim target of a 40-percent reduction by 2025 for federal facilities and the federal conventional fleet.
By buying low-carbon products, the government will support their availability, thus strengthening green supply chains and improving Canada’s capacity to bring low-carbon concrete solutions to market.
“The government is doing its part to find ways to build a more resilient future that will lead to a safer, cleaner world,” said Treasury Board president Jean-Yves Duclos. “Through the Greening Government Strategy, the government has targeted a 30-percent reduction in embodied carbon for structural materials in major construction projects. Green procurement for building materials like cement will help us lower emissions and meet our federal goal of net zero by 2050.”
The cement and concrete industry employs an estimated 158,000 people in Canada. Cement production in Canada was valued at more than $1.6 billion in 2014. The global industry, however, also one of the largest sources of industrial sector emissions. It accounted for 7 percent of all industrial CO2 emissions in 2019.