On May 28, 2024, the government of Ireland went on to take a bold step towards a more sustainable future by way of mandating green procurement needs to get low carbon cement.
The landmark decision that this is happens to mark a major milestone when it comes to the journey towards coming up with a net-zero carbon society by 2050 as prescribed within the national policy position.
It is worth noting that cement happens to account for around 5% of the overall Irish emissions and 8% across the world. Since it is clinker, which happens to be the source for more than 90% of the emissions coming out of cement, and cement in Ireland happens to average around 90% of clinker, this indeed happens to be a major shift and also sends out a crystal-clear message across the construction sector to go ahead and make investments in low carbon products.
GGBS role and low carbon cement tech
GGBS, which happens to be Ecocem’s flagship product, holds the key to achieving such new standards, and it is as of now the best available tech when it comes to decreasing concrete clinker levels, thereby significantly decreasing embodied carbon emissions.
Through incorporating GGBS within the concrete mixes, the company can go on to quite significantly reduce the content of carbon, thereby contributing to the total target of embodied carbon reduction within the construction materials by a minimum of 30%. With the support of the government, the company is all set to lead the charge when it comes to supplying solutions pertaining to low-carbon cement that happen to meet such kinds of fresh procurement needs.
It is worth noting that the next stage of development pertaining to this procurement strategy will go on to put carbon limits on concrete, thereby leading to more reductions when it comes to carbon per cubic metre. The next-gen scalable low-carbon cement tech from Ecocem, called ACT, has recently gone on to get European Technical Approval- ETA. The same shall be available commercially starting in 2026 and will go on to offer the concrete sector new solutions so as to meet the next level of government needs.
What all this means for the sector
It is well to be noted that Ecocem happens to be at the forefront when it comes to advocating for low carbon solutions as far as cement along with the concrete sector in Ireland are concerned, and that too for many years. The new norm needs a 30% substitution of clinker in concrete across all the government, along with public works projects and high clinker cement phase-out.
This kind of visionary step not only syncs with the climate action plan 2024 objectives, but it also offers the required momentum for the sector so as to innovate as well as shift to lower limits of carbon.
The four major objectives pertaining to the Green Procurement Requirement are-
One can do more with less by making use of less concrete as well as cement by way of designing, specifying, as well as managing products on site in a better way.
Specify the lower carbon concrete.
Specify the lower carbon cement.
Introduce much broader carbon management systems when it comes to large infrastructure projects.
Coming up with a future that’s sustainable
The creation of the Cement and Construction Sector Decarbonization Working Group by the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment- DETE goes on to reflect a much more collaborative as well as hard approach in terms of executing such ambitious targets. This initiative will go on to unite the public sector stakeholders, thereby driving forward the practical steps so as to decrease the embodied carbon emissions by way of procurement approaches which are innovative.
The fact is that now Ireland happens to be at the forefront of the public policy for cement decarbonization across Europe. It is indeed the moment to lead by example and also show the commitment of the nation to have a future that’s sustainable. The coming to the fore of carbon disclosure needs, the development when it comes to carbon databases, as well as execution of economic incentives all happen to be critical steps as far as this journey is concerned.
The fact is that as momentum builds. Ecocem is indeed committed in terms of investing in research, innovation, as well as commercialization in terms of new low carbon materials as well as ACT technology. The kind of opportunities that the Green Procurement Requirements happen to offer for the sector are very exciting indeed. By way of taking into account such changes and also consistently innovating, the path to a greener and more sustainable construction sector can indeed be paved. The benchmark for low carbon cement solutions is going to be set, hence driving forward towards a future where sustainable construction happens to be a standard.
The Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability from Ecocem, Susan McGarry, said the cement sector, which happens to be responsible for around 5% of the emissions in Ireland, has indeed a major role to play when it comes to decarbonizing the construction sector. The public procurement requirements for the usage of low carbon cement happen to be very essential so as to make sure of a sustainable delivery of infrastructure in Ireland. She added that at Ecocem, they have long been asking for compulsory use of cements with low carbon that happen to have incredible potential so as to reduce the emissions at scale with the mandatory target of the government of a 30% decrease in clinker being a robust foundation on which the industry can build.
It is worth noting that low carbon cement technology is for the taking to get rolled out at any given time, therefore offering a scalable as well as cost-effective solution when it comes to the carbon problem of concrete. The ownership now happens to lie with the decision makers in the public sector to go ahead and engage with the private sector in its endeavors to decrease the carbon impact pertaining to construction.
