The Business Case for LC3
Learn why LC3 is the cement industry's key to achieving sustainability and business goals such as reduced emissions and improved cost-efficiency.
Clean Concrete Pledge Initiative
Commitments from buyers and suppliers to procure, demonstrate, or supply low-carbon concrete materials send a strong market signal to drive the US concrete industry's carbon pollution to zero.
CLEAN CONCRETE PLEDGE INITIATIVE
Cement and concrete are fundamental ingredients for modern life. 30 billion tons of concrete are poured every year to build the roads, bridges, and buildings that drive the global economy. The concrete industry is also a major contributor to climate change, comprising 8% of annual global emissions.
A key barrier precluding market transformation in the concrete industry is a lack of alignment amongst key value chain stakeholders. To address this gap, RMI, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the National Ready-mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), in collaboration with the White House, have brought together key concrete industry stakeholders to identify actionable paths forward to decarbonize the US concrete and cement industry.
The Clean Concrete Pledge Initiative, hosted by RMI, offers a framework for collective action to deliver clean concrete at scale, driving down climate pollution and creating economic opportunity.
PLEDGE CATEGORIES
The Clean Concrete Pledge Initiative aligns concrete industry stakeholders from across the value chain around a set of key actions to decarbonize the sector. The pledges are organized into four key categories:
PROCUREMENT PLEDGES
For Real Estate Developers, Owners, Public Agencies, And Departments Of Transportation.
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT PLEDGES
For Real Estate Developers, Owners, Public Agencies, Departments Of Transportation, Ready-Mixed Concrete Suppliers, Emerging Technology Vendors, Pre-Cast Suppliers.
CEMENT SUPPLIER PLEDGES
For Cement And/Or Ready-Mixed Concrete Companies
MARKET ACCELERATOR PLEDGES
For All Stakeholders, Including Universities, Financial Institutions, And AEC Firms.
OUR CURRENT PLEDGERS
An inaugural group of 17 cities, states, real estate firms, and cement and ready-mixed concrete producers, representing some of the largest US buyers and suppliers of concrete, pledged to take specific actions to decarbonize the concrete industry. Pledges were designed to align with existing standards and efforts, such as the ACI low-carbon concrete code and the First Mover's Coalition.
We invite stakeholders to review the pledges and join the pledge community as we grow the group and build a lasting collaborative to move the industry forward.
NGO PARTNERS
Resources
Guidance for Developing Performance Standards and Specifications for Concrete
Suggestions for stakeholder roles and test options to trial PSS on a next project
Structuring Demand for Lower-Carbon Materials: An Initial Assessment of Book and Claim for the Steel and Concrete Sectors
RMI and Microsoft co-authored report that analyzes book and claim’s potential to support the lower-carbon steel and concrete markets.
Decarbonizing Concrete Infrastructure Projects
How state departments of transportation can leverage the federal government’s $1.2 billion Low Carbon Transportation Materials (LCTM) program.
The Road to Decarbonization: Unlocking State DOT Concrete Specifications
In recent years, state Departments of Transportation across the United States have made progress to reduce the embodied carbon impact of concrete construction by deploying high-performance concrete mixes.
Buy Clean and Beyond
Buy Clean and Beyond: RMI’s Guide to Reaching Net-Zero Embodied Carbon in State-Owned Building Projects
The 3Cs of Innovation in Low-Carbon Concrete
RMI’s insight brief provides a one-stop shop for understanding the landscape of emerging technologies to decarbonize concrete and cement.
New White House ‘Buy Clean’ Guidance Targets Huge Emissions Hidden in Building Materials
White House announced “Buy Clean” recommendations that will advance green building materials procurement for federal building and transportation projects.
Using Biomaterials to Shrink the Building Industry’s Carbon Footprint
A Q&A with Dr. Wil Srubar of the University of Colorado Boulder
Giving America’s Infrastructure a Clean Start
RMI Releases a Guide on How to Reduce Emissions from Concrete.
Concrete Solutions Guide
A user-friendly overview of proven and scalable solutions to reduce concrete’s contribution to climate change.
Low-Cost, High-Value Opportunities to Reduce Embodied Carbon in Buildings
The solutions for addressing embodied carbon in buildings have not been widely studied in the United States, leaving a significant knowledge gap for engineers, architects, contractors, policymakers, and building owners.
TAKE THE CLEAN CONCRETE PLEDGE
Make a pledge to join our initiative
