Europe’s First Combine-specific Environmental Product Declarations for Cement and Concrete

Europe’s First Combine-specific Environmental Product Declarations for Cement and Concrete

Because the business shifts in the direction of a extra sustainable mannequin for development, transparency turns into more and more necessary. With a rising emphasis on constructing greener, architects, planners and different professionals need to make it possible for the supplies they’re utilizing have a minimal affect on the planet. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are an necessary software to precisely measure that affect.

In January, Holcim Germany turned the primary firm in Europe to publish EPDs for its whole cement portfolio. It is usually the primary German firm to offer its clients with product-specific ready-mix concrete EPDs.

This milestone for the business was acknowledged by Hans Peters, CEO of the Institut Bauen und Umwelt – Europe’s main EPD Programme Operator – on the BAU München commerce honest. In a symbolic handover ceremony on the occasion, he introduced two EPD certificates for cement and concrete respectively to Holcim Germany CEO Thorsten Hahn.

What are EPDs?

EPDs present an correct evaluation of a constructing materials or product’s environmental affect over its whole lifetime. They carry collectively indicators like CO₂ emissions, vitality necessities or the quantity of waste generated throughout its manufacturing, use and disposal, exactly outlined in response to worldwide requirements. 

By offering clear and quantified details about the environmental affect of various supplies, architects and planners use EPDs to calculate the potential lifecycle footprint of a constructing as an entire. 

A groundbreaking growth in sustainable constructing

Till just lately, EPDs for cement and concrete had solely been out there as averages for whole areas or product teams. Now, each Holcim Germany cement combine and lots of of its concrete mixes have their very own particular person EPD. Since EPDs should be calculated and comprehensively audited by an impartial verifier, it means every product comes with a reputable evaluation of its environmental affect.

This permits architects and planners to measure the CO₂ footprint and circularity of supplies extra precisely than earlier than. Much more importantly, it permits them to check the sustainable credentials of various cement and concrete merchandise to allow them to scrutinize every one individually of their choice course of.

Why is that this such an necessary growth?

Choosing the proper concrete and cement in a constructing mission can forestall monumental quantities of carbon emissions from reaching the ambiance. Holcim’s ECOPlanet cement, for instance, presents 100% efficiency with a CO₂ discount of at the least 30% in comparison with commonplace cement. Product-specific EPDs present architects, designers and constructing contractors with the exact information they should make extra knowledgeable and sustainable decisions.

Delivering extra transparency round low-carbon concrete and cement can also be an necessary lever driving demand for sustainable constructing options. With entry to verified information, contractors can select low-carbon supplies like ECOPlanet with confidence that they’re constructing for each individuals and the planet. 

On this context, Holcim Germany’s achievement is a major step ahead in Holcim’s –and the broader business’s– journey to decarbonize constructing at scale.