28th May 2024
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke TD will soon write to public bodies to advise them of new guidance when designing public projects, and procuring cement and concrete products in particular. The guidance ensures a consistent approach to reducing the embodied carbon – emissions associated with extracting and producing construction materials – in construction projects procured by government departments and their agencies.
In 2022, the cement sector accounted for 2.88 Mt CO₂ equivalent, or 4.8% of total national emissions. Under the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate, public bodies have committed to better procuring cement and concrete products, and construction projects more broadly, in order to send a market signal in favour of lower carbon construction materials. The guidance agreed by government will send a clear message to the construction, concrete and cement sectors as to the urgent imperative to invest in lower carbon products and project design.
Minister Burke said that the new public procurement guidelines were an important signal for the sector:
“The cement sector accounts for nearly 5% of Ireland’s carbon emissions. As a state, we rely on this sector to provide the raw materials to deliver our ambitious public infrastructure and housing projects. In order to reduce embodied emissions while ensuring construction materials are cost-effective and available, the State has to buy smarter, and send a medium-term signal that allows manufacturers to invest in decarbonisation. This proportionate approach ensures a more sustainable Irish construction sector over the long-term. Many private construction projects already carefully manage the embodied carbon in their building, the public sector acting collectively can significantly influence the construction sector for the better.’’
The agreed guidance builds on 4 key objectives. These are:
- Using less concrete, and less cement by designing, specifying, and managing products on site better.
- Specify lower carbon concrete.
- Specify lower carbon cement.
- Introduce broader Carbon Management systems for large infrastructure projects.
The guidance for public bodies is based on an expert consultant’s report, Reducing Embodied Carbon in Cement and Concrete Through Public Procurement in Ireland. This report was commissioned by an interdepartmental group, the Cement and Construction Sector Decarbonisation Working Group and is published today.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Industry emissions in Ireland account for roughly 10% of national Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Under the Sectoral Emissions Ceilings, the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has responsibility to reduce emissions from industry by 20% by 2025 and 35% by 2030.
Under Climate Action Plan 2021, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) established the cross-departmental ‘Cement and Construction Sector Decarbonisation Working Group’. Its members include Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLHG), Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), Department of Finance, Office of Government Procurement (OGP), Office of Public Works (OPW), Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Enterprise Ireland, Department of Taoiseach, the Land Development Agency, Irish Green Building Council, and others. The Working Group progresses a ‘multi-pronged’ approach to motivating and facilitating the cement and construction sector to decarbonises. Activities include detailed engagement with the cement sector through Enterprise Ireland, engagement with research on innovation in the formulation and production of cement and concrete products, alignment with the Timber in Construction Steering Group, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) policy, and policy measures to increase circularity in the construction sector, and re-use of cement and concrete products where possible.
The guidance to public bodies will be provided in the coming weeks, and require that, for projects commencing design from September 2024:
- Public bodies should seek an Environmental Product Declaration, to an EN 15804 standard, or equivalent, when directly procuring cement or concrete products
- Public bodies should be guided by best-practice carbon management design approaches, including avoidance of over-specification of materials, when undertaking or procuring construction projects.
- High-carbon CEM I cement products should not be procured by public bodies, or used in publicly produced construction projects, except where a technical justification is made.
- Concrete products procured by public bodies, or used in publicly produced construction projects, including poured or pre-cast products, should in general specify a minimum of 30% clinker replacement, consistent with IS EN 206, except where a technical justification is made.
- Public bodies procuring infrastructure projects (construction other than buildings) in receipt of exchequer funding in excess of €60 million, should produce or procure a Whole Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions assessment for their project. From 1 January 2026, projects in receipt of exchequer funding in excess of €10 million should produce such an assessment. Projects below this scale should also consider implementing this assessment.
- From 1 September 2025, public bodies that are commencing design for new buildings for projects in receipt of exchequer funding in excess of €10 million in the case of non-residential buildings, or in excess of €60 million in the case of residential buildings, should produce or procure a Whole Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions assessment in accordance technical guidance to be provided by SEAI in 2025. From 1 June 2026, projects in receipt of exchequer funding in excess of €5 million in the case of non-residential buildings, or in excess of €30 million in the case of residential buildings, should produce such an assessment. Projects below this scale should also consider implementing this assessment.
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