(C01) An Ambitious Path to Net Zero: How California’s SB-596 Will Set a Foundation for Green Cement Within the Decade

While concrete materials contribute to a number of environmental strategies and LEED credits, cement manufacturing still represents a significant burden on sustainability within the built environment. California’s GHG emissions from cement production annually contribute about 8 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere - making it the state’s second-largest industrial source of GHG emissions behind oil and gas. It’s little surprise that California would also be first to push for green concrete regulations. In 2019, Marin County became the first civic body in the nation to mandate low-carbon concrete for new buildings. Now, California senate bill SB-596 proposes to reduce carbon emissions in the building sector 40% below 1990 levels by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2045 - a move that will likely have repercussions nationwide. While fly ash, slag, and other materials are being used to sequester carbon and improve overall impact, these substitutes are becoming increasingly harder to source and cost prohibitive, calling into question how such mandates can be met, and what material science innovations will be needed to achieve a truly zero-carbon building infrastructure. How can we decarbonize concrete in California - and across the world? And how will mandates and incentives for greener concrete mixes spur innovation and impact the economics of construction? Will state and federal incentives be required, or can cement technologies also offer competitive costs to standard ready mixes? This session will bring together cement industry leaders, builders, policy makers and material science companies to discuss the upcoming impacts of SB-596 and the Build Back Better Act, and the remedies the industry has available to take the path to net zero.