The Canadian Cement Association teams up with government to target net-zero carbon concrete

A new the partnership has been made between the Canadian government and Canada’s cement sector as represented by the Canadian Cement Association (CAC) to support the development and implementation of a 'Roadmap to Net-Zero-Carbon Concrete'.

This work is designed to provide Canadian cement and concrete industry with the technologies, tools and policy needed to achieve net-zero carbon concrete by 2050.

The roadmap, when completed in December 2021, is consistent with goals of Canada's strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and Healthy Economy, as well as Budget 2021, which identify the cement sector as a key contributor to Canada's net-zero future.

The deal has the potential to reduce over 15Mt of GHGs cumulatively by 2030, and then ongoing reductions of over 4Mta.

The partnership will establish an industry-government working group, led by CAC, the National Research Council (NRC) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), in collaboration with Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED). The working group will be asked to:
• develop strategic objectives that will identify short and long-term actions to move towards building a low-carbon economy in the cement sector, including both federal government and industry activities that need to be put in place to drive change
• demonstrate the role of the cement and concrete industry in Canada's transition to a prosperous, resilient, and clean economy
• advance the commercialisation of low-carbon cement and concrete solutions and enhance the competitiveness of Canada's cement sector in a clean economy
• secure Canada's contribution toward the global ambition of net zero carbon concrete by 2050, including by establishing GHG reduction milestones for the sector and identifying supporting market and policy frameworks
• collect the data necessary to track progress against milestones
• support Canada's Directive on the Greening of Government and the Canada-US Greening of Government Initiative, with the aim of accelerating market demand for low-carbon cement and concrete
• support the ongoing collaborative work of the CAC and its members as well as federal, provincial and territorial governments to advance the objectives above.

The agreement was made by François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Cement Association of Canada (CAC) Chair, Marie Glenn, and Michael McSweeney, president and CEO.