The Climate Action Reserve is developing a U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol that will provide guidance on how to quantify, monitor, report, and verify the climate benefits associated with the alternative use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) or alternative cementitious materials (ACMs) to produce cement. Production of portland cement (PC) accounts for approximately seven percent of all global carbon dioxide emissions with most of these emissions resulting from calcination to produce clinker, the primary intermediate component of PC. With the opportunity to significantly reduce emissions by replacing clinker with byproduct or naturally derived SCMs/ACMs, the U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol will incentivize industrial-scale SCM availability to meet market demands and achieve emission reduction ambitions.

Version 1.0

The protocol will be presented to the Reserve Board of Directors for consideration for adoption at the October 4, 2023 Board meeting.

• Low-Carbon Cement Protocol Version 1.0 – for Board consideration
• Attestation of SCM/ACM Use – for Board consideration

Public Comment Period

The public comment period was held from August 9, 2023 to September 8, 2023. See below for the draft protocol released in August 2023, the summary of comments and responses from Reserve staff, as well as the submitted comments in their entirety.

• U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol Version 1.0 – Draft for Public Comment (August 9, 2023)

Summary of Comments and Responses – Draft U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol

U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol Public Comment Webinar
The Reserve held a public comment webinar on August 25, 2023 to discuss the draft protocol in detail and to solicit public comment:

• Webinar recording
• Presentation slides

Stakeholder Engagement

The Reserve seeks to engage stakeholders throughout the U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol development process to identify and incorporate applicable laws, norms, and conditions applicable to the cement industry in the United States as well as specific improvements and changes to existing industrial manufacturing processes to ensure its successful implementation.

• Stakeholder Engagement Form

Workgroup

The U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol is being developed through the Reserve’s multi-stakeholder workgroup process. The Reserve strives to create a well-balanced workgroup consisting of industry representatives, project developers, environmental NGOs, verification bodies, independent consultants, academia, and government bodies.

Stakeholders not in the workgroup are encouraged to participate in the process as “observers.” Observers may attend workgroup meetings in listen-only mode, submit written comments on the draft methodology when it is available for public comment, and attend the public webinar(s) held during the public comment period.

Workgroup Meetings

Low-Carbon Cement Workgroup Meeting 5
April 19, 2023

• Meeting recording
• Presentation slides
• Notes and takeaways
• Draft workgroup protocol – April 2023
• Draft workgroup protocol – June 2023

Low-Carbon Cement Workgroup Meeting 4
March 17, 2023

• Meeting recording
• Presentation slides
• Notes and takeaways
• Draft workgroup protocol – March 2023

Low-Carbon Cement Workgroup Meeting 3
February 17, 2023

• Meeting recording
• Presentation slides
• Notes and takeaways
• Draft workgroup protocol – February 2023

Low-Carbon Cement Workgroup Meeting 2
January 20, 2023

• Meeting recording
• Presentation slides
• Notes and takeaways
• Draft workgroup protocol – January 2023

Low-Carbon Cement Workgroup Meeting 1
December 19, 2022

• Meeting recording
• Presentation slides
• Notes and takeaways
• Draft workgroup protocol – December 2022

Kickoff Webinar

The Reserve held a public webinar on November 3, 2022, to kick-off the U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol development process.

• Webinar recording
• Presentation slides

Development Timeline

The following timeline will be updated as the protocol development process unfolds.

Resources

• Low-Carbon Cement Issue Paper

Please contact the Reserve with questions or comments.

Technical and Financial Support

Partial funding and technical support were provided by ClimeCo.