Golden Bay Cement, part of Fletcher Building, has launched EcoSure®, a general purpose cement with lower embodied carbon of just 699kg CO2e/t of cement, which is said to perform as strongly as its predecessor EverSure®.
Gian Raffainer, general manager at Golden Bay, says, “Due to the very high temperature in the kiln, no smoke, odour or visible emissions result from the process and because leftover tyre, steel and ashes are incorporated into the final product, there is no waste or by-product.
“It’s incredibly exciting to launch New Zealand’s first low carbon cement offering at scale and give Kiwis the choice to buy a decarbonised cement option,” he added.
Nick Traber, Fletcher Building’s chief executive, concrete, explains how it came about, “The cement we produce locally in New Zealand already has 20 per cent less embodied carbon than imported products. However with Fletcher Building’s commitment to 30 per cent carbon reduction by 2030 we knew that 20 per cent less was simply our starting point.
“We needed to think outside the box, or rather the cement bag to be more precise. The challenge was around what enhancements could we make to our manufacturing processes at our Golden Bay cement works in Whangarei to improve the plant’s sustainability. We quickly realised that consuming used tyres and wood waste as alternative fuels was a win-win.
“Not only does EcoSure® make it easy for environmentally conscious consumers to use low carbon concrete on their projects, it’s also creating a sustainable circular economy - make, use, reuse and recycle. Here we’re not only safely disposing of waste and redirecting it from landfill, but we also thermally and materially valorise waste and create ways to reuse the materials," added Mr Traber.
