Ecocem supports Irish government's 30% target for clinker reduction

The Irish government has announced that it will provide specific guidance for the use and procurement of low-carbon cement and concrete in public sector projects. Cement accounts for almost five per cent of Ireland’s total emissions. Specifically, the government has formally mandated a 30 per cent target for clinker reduction and Ireland is the first country in Europe to do this. Since clinker is the source of over 90 per cent of emissions from cement and cement in Ireland currently averages almost 85 per cent clinker, this is a significant shift and sends a clear message to the construction industry to invest in low-carbon products, claims Dublin-based Ecocem, a pioneer of low-carbon cement solutions. 

Ecocem has welcomed the government's announcement. Susan McGarry, director of public affairs and sustainability at Ecocem, said: “Public procurement requirements on the use of low-carbon cement are essential to ensure sustainable delivery of Ireland’s infrastructure. At Ecocem, we have long been calling for mandatory use of low carbon cements, which have enormous potential to reduce emissions at scale, and the government’s mandatory target of 30 per cent reduction in clinker is a solid start on which we as an industry can build.

"Low carbon cement technology is available to be deployed immediately,  offering a scalable, cost-efficient solution to cement and concrete’s carbon problem. The responsibility now lies with public sector decision makers to engage with the private sector in its efforts to reduce the carbon impact of construction."

The announcement from Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment follows its "Reducing embodied carbon in cement and concrete through Public Procurement in Ireland" report, detailing technical and procedural recommendations for public procurement including:
• reduce the carbon impact of public sector projects involving construction
• lower the carbon impact of the procurement of cement and concrete
• do more with less by using less concrete and less cement and by designing, specifying, and managing products on site better.