Isometric, the certifier for the industrial economy, has certified the Low Carbon Cement Protocol. This is the first protocol against which Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) for low-carbon cement can be issued, providing producers with a new source of revenue to fund decarbonization.
Cement accounts for around 8% of global carbon emissions. Since 2015, the sector’s total emissions have increased, while emissions per tonne of cement have remained flat.
Technologies including carbon capture, alternative binders and kiln electrification can reduce these emissions, but producers need reliable revenue to scale them, and the companies willing to pay for low-carbon cement are rarely located near where it is made.
EACs address this by separating the environmental benefit of low-carbon cement from the physical product. A producer can sell its cement to local customers and sell the certificates for that cement to buyers anywhere in the world, who claim them against their climate targets.
The protocol is technology-agnostic, so any approach can qualify, provided the clinker, cement or concrete has a verified Environmental Product Declaration and a carbon intensity at or below Band C of the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s Low Carbon Ratings. This threshold tightens to Band B from 2030, so the bar for certification rises as the sector decarbonizes.
The protocol is also designed to meet the integrity criteria in Version 2.0 of the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard, opening the market to the more than 12,200 companies with SBTi-validated targets.
Stacy Kauk, chief science officer at Isometric, said, “Heavy industry needs trusted certification for low-carbon products before buyers will pay for them. Most cement producers can’t fund decarbonization on local demand alone, and this protocol gives them access to buyers anywhere in the world. Every certificate is backed by rigorous science, independent verification and public evidence, so buyers know exactly what they are paying for.”
Phil De Luna, co-founder and CTO of Canadian cement decarbonization company CURA, said: “Low-carbon cement EACs are a brand-new frontier, and markets like this don’t build themselves. They need rigorous, trusted rules of the road. Isometric’s protocol gives project developers a credible path to certify their impact and gives buyers the confidence to invest, which is exactly what this market needs to take off.”
Producers interested in registering a project can get in touch with Isometric.
