Net Zero Emissions by 2050 for Cement and Concrete is Possible and is Happening

Building Resilience Coalition, Seattle, WA, June 23, 2021 – Participants in the latest Pathway to Resilience and Carbon Neutrality were given fascinating insights on the measures underway to reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete, the most widely used building materials in the world today.

Dr. Randolph Kirchain, Co-Director of the Concrete Sustainability Hub at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), outlined the enormity of the challenge and the equally daunting measures required to reach the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

He noted that more than 4 billion tons of cement are manufactured every year on a global scale. But concrete production is roughly seven times that, accounting for nearly 30 billion tons per year.  Our per capita use of concrete has nearly doubled over the past 20 years.

Lowering the carbon footprint of concrete begins with reducing the footprint of cement production, noted Dr. Kirchain, then by leveraging every opportunity available in producing and using concrete and acting upon any net-negative applications needed to reach our goal.

He demonstrated how cement emissions could be lowered by 24 percent by 2050 despite increased production by over 20 percent. Carbon capture and storage will account for 48% of that decrease, followed by clinker substitution that will account for 37 percent of the required GHG remissions reduction.

Equally impressive gains in emissions reduction are possible in producing and using concrete, noted Dr. Kirchain. Combining changes to the materials used in the production of concrete and injecting captured CO2 into the concrete mixture will increase its strength and durability and its real-world performance.

Strengthening pavements with concrete improves the performance of vehicles on the road, thereby reducing their emissions. Also, exposed concrete buildings reabsorb CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently store it through a natural carbonation process.

That is why building design and the mandated use of lower carbon building materials is essential, noted Dr. Kirchain. Including in project specifications lower carbon materials and processes will stimulate further research on how to lower the carbon content of structures, he noted.

In this regard, he emphasized that an entire lifecycle perspective is needed to evaluate concrete’s environmental impact properly. That means assessing its production, design and construction, lifetime use, and end-of-life material recovery and carbon uptake.

Also important is concrete’s proven potential to strengthen our resilience to extreme weather incidents and natural disasters. Over $96 billion in damages from natural disasters occurred in the United States in 2020, the sixth year in a row with climate-related incidents costing more than $10 billion.

By protecting our communities and infrastructure with more resilient building materials, we can avoid massive rebuilding following disasters, save lives and lower property damage.  All these matter when we consider the actual carbon footprint of the built environment.  

Dr. Kirchain’s presentation was the third of a four-part series sponsored by the Building Resilience Coalition in partnership with the Pacific Northwest Economic Region.

William Larson, Chairman of the Coalition, outlined the topics covered in the first two webinars. Next week, June 29, the matters to be discussed on disaster resilience in a presentation by Evan Reis, Co-founder of the U.S. Resiliency Council.

A brief overview preceded this week’s presentation by Dr. Kirchain by Andrew Pape-Salmon, Executive Director of the Building and Safety Standards Branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria, on energy efficiency, resiliency, climate action and building science.

In his comments, Andrew Pape-Salmon reinforced the message enunciated by Dr. Kirchain that building codes, building standards, and building design factors play a critical role in reducing the built environment’s carbon footprint.

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The next event in the series takes place on June 29, 10:00 AM PST, when Evan Reis, co-founder of the U.S. Resiliency Council, will address the Resilience Advantage.

He will explore the economic and environmental benefits of disaster-resilient design, and why concrete is essential in safeguarding our cities and towns from the often devastating impacts of extreme weather and climate change.

More information on the webinar series is available on the Building Resilience Coalition website here.

You can register for the series here: bit.ly/resiliencepathway

For more information, contact us at info@buildingresiliencecoalition.org