Tarmac launches lower carbon concrete
Tarmac has launched a new brand that includes a simplified system for rating the carbon footprint performance of its concrete products.
The new brand aims to make it easier for its customers to use lower carbon concrete mixes and solutions. Its new umbrella brand CEVO will align its range of concretes to the industry standard ratings provided by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Green Construction Board Low Carbon Concrete Routemap.
CEVO’s new system sees all of Tarmac’s concrete mixes graded by strength into a series of bands to meet customer requirements. Just like energy ratings for white goods, the carbon performance of each concrete mix is visually represented by a transparent and easy-to-understand colour-coded benchmark, from A++ to G.
The company has also unveiled a new carbon calculator which provides customers with access to concrete carbon footprint data at the click of a button.
The business has also developed an alkali-activated material (AACM) system to replace cement in concrete. This system has been trialled over the past two years, including by National Highways on a project on the M42, and the Environment Agency and BAM Nuttall in permanent works at the Hexham flood defence scheme.
Reducing carbon emissions from its products forms a crucial part of Tarmac’s net zero strategy, which is aligned with the commitment of its parent company, CRH, to reduce absolute CO₂ by 30% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
Andrew Campling, head of readymix concrete performance at Tarmac, said: “As a business we’ve been developing industry-leading low carbon concrete technology over many years, and have a comprehensive range of tried and tested solutions that perform just as well as traditional concrete in terms of strength, versatility and durability.
“With the introduction of our new CEVO range – which is the first in the UK concrete industry to align with the Green Construction Board’s rating system – together with the new carbon calculator, we’ve listened to our customers and made the process of accessing transparent data and procuring lower carbon concrete as simple as possible. Through the benchmarking, the options to deliver carbon savings are even easier to understand and measure – it really is designed to be specification, made simple.”
Image courtesy of CEVO/Tarmac
