Sarasota Community Goes Green With Cemex Low CO2 Concrete
Today one of the world’s largest construction materials companies took a major step forward in their corporate push toward net-zero production by 2050 with the introduction of lower carbon concrete in the Florida market.
In today’s announcement, Mexico-based Cemex said the company will be supplying their lower carbon Vertua® concrete for the new homes being built at Brightmore at Wellen Park, a 55+ community in Sarasota County, Florida.
Cemex was recruited by Rockwell Construction to fortify the homes at Brightmore with its more sustainable Vertua® product. Jeff Bobolts, Cemex U.S. Regional President for the East Region, described the importance of the bringing a lower-carbon concrete option to the Sunshine State:
“We are thrilled to bring Vertua® to Florida and collaborate on Mattamy Homes’ new residential endeavor in Sarasota County. This product represents a significant leap forward in sustainable construction, helping set a higher standard for environmentally responsible building practices not only in the region, but throughout the country.” – Jeff Bobolts, Cemex Regional President
How Do You Make Lower Carbon Concrete?
Items That Impact Concrete's Carbon Footprint
Cemex officials addressed the topic of lower-carbon concrete production during a recent webinar focused on the company’s global sustainability efforts. The ultimate goal of these various initiatives is to achieve net-zero carbon concrete delivery from all Cemex plants by 2050.
The biggest component when it comes to lowering concrete’s carbon footprint begins with focusing on the cement that goes in to each mixture. This becomes apparent when you analyze the breakdown of the mixture, because the cement portion really dominates the overall carbon footprint, according to Cemex.
In other words, cement may only account for 10% of the total volume of the mix; however, the cement accounts for almost 90% of the embodied CO2 in the finished concrete. In contrast, the other additives like aggregates and admixtures account for 90% of the concrete volume but only 10% of the embodied CO2 in the finished product.
Levers To Reduce Cement & Concrete CO2
When it comes to actually lowering the carbon footprint of concrete, Cemex points to six levers that they and other major concrete producers can pull to decarbonize the mixture.
With cement accounting for the bulk of the carbon footprint, it’s not surprising that sourcing alternatives to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) are at the top of the list.
- Switch to Type IL Cement: Type IL is a Portland-limestone cement (PLC) containing up to 15% limestone, although most producers are using ~12%.
- Use Alternative & Blended Cements: Low CO2 clinker and blended cements
- Use Alternative Fuel Sources At Kilns: Substituting tires, natural gas, biomass for coal and pet coke
- Use Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs): Fly Ash, Slag and other pozzolans
- Aggregate Optimization: Well graded mixes reduce paste content and improve workability
- Carbon Capture Utilization: Use technology to capture and use CO2 emissions.
How Do You Verify Lower Carbon Concrete?
Environmental Product Declarations for Lower Carbon Concrete
Once Cemex has produced a finished product, the question then becomes how can a specifier or developer verify that a concrete mixture is indeed lower carbon. This is where Environmental Product Declarations come in to play.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are becoming more important in the industry. In addition to the standard requests for pricing, Cemex is receiving more requests for EPDs from developers, architects and specifiers.
EPDs are like the nutrition labels on your favorite grocery store items. For every concrete mix design, you will get a unique EPD, so as you change the requirements for your mix design, you will generate different EPDs.
Cemex works closely with the specifiers in each local market, so they can understand what is achievable from both an engineering properties perspective as well as a carbon footprint perspective.
Cemex Plants That Offer Environmental Product Declarations
Mexico-based Cemex is a true global company with a significant presence in the U.S. market. Cemex recorded global sales of $17.4 billion in 2023, and the United States accounted for $5.3 billion or 30% of that total.
Most of Cemex U.S. operations are located in the southern half of the country with 8 cement plants, 50 cement terminals, 50 aggregate quarries and over 300 ready-mix concrete plants stretching from California to Florida.
A Cemex map of U.S. assets indicates the highest concentrations of ready-mix and aggregate plants are in Arizona, Alabama, North Georgia and throughout Florida.
When it comes to Environmental Product Declarations, Cemex says that EPDs are now available at all 8 of the company’s cement plants and 241 of the company’s ready-mix plants.
To learn more about lower carbon concrete production and the steps that Cemex is taking on their path to net zero carbon concrete delivery by 2050, you can watch the full webinar here.
Contact CII Today
If you own an established contractor or home services business in Florida or Georgia and would like to get a better understanding of the current market value of your company and important steps you can take today to maximize that value, get in touch with a CII business advisor today.