NEW!
NRMCA Concrete Carbon Calculator
How to use the NRMCA Concrete Carbon Calculator:
Example: Quantifying and Reducing the Carbon Footprint of a Concrete Building (PDF)
Video: NRMCA Concrete Carbon Calculator: How to Reduce, Quantify, and Specify Carbon
The Top 10 Ways to Reduce Concrete’s Carbon Footprint (PDF)
Climate Action What You Can Do Right Now (PDF)
Strength Through Transparency (PDF)
Guide to Specifications for Reducing Embodied Carbon (PDF)
Strength Through Transparency
Sustainability … Sustainable Development … Environmental, Social & Governance … Social Responsibility. Regardless of the key terms, finding the preferred level of engagement to “do better” is a strategic business necessity.
According to the U.N. Environment Global Status Report 2017, the world is projected to add 2.5 trillion sq ft (230 billion sq meters) of buildings by 2060 driven by soaring needs for housing and infrastructure development. That will double the entire current global building stock. The UN report urges building designers and owners to reduce operational carbon by designing disaster-resilient buildings for the future with zero-energy consumption. Concrete has long been the material of choice for energy efficiency and disaster resilience. The UN report also urges the building industry to reduce the embodied carbon of building materials. The challenge for the concrete industry is to offer the benefits of concrete at a lower carbon footprint.
To meet this challenge, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) adopted the Architecture 2030 Challenge in 2012, which has goals to reduce operational carbon and embodied carbon from the built environment to net zero by 2050. Reducing these emissions is the key to addressing climate change and meeting the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which targets a maximum increase in the global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In 2021, NRMCA reaffirmed its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by supporting the Portland Cement Association roadmap to carbon neutrality.
The NRMCA serves its members to advance their competitiveness in a marketplace that demands material suppliers to disclose their journey when reducing impacts.
Within these webpages, NRMCA offers various initiatives that can help the concrete industry manage impacts and realize Strength Through Transparency.