Standard to quantify the carbon impact of concrete launched

CarbonStar, a new standard to quantify the carbon impact of concrete in the U.S. and Canada, was recently unveiled.

“CarbonStar is the only bi-national standard for the quantification and verification of the carbon intensity in concrete,” said Greg Kats, CEO of the Smart Surfaces Coalition. “We are working with cities that make up more than 10% of the U.S. population, and our city partners all want to cut pollution and become more resilient. CarbonStar is essential because it is the first user-friendly standard enabling cities to effectively quantify and decarbonize their concrete.”

The standard offers “a simple, rigorous way to compare the embodied carbon in concrete.” Concrete is the most-used building material on the planet and is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is already using CarbonStar as a core part of a $11 billion infrastructure upgrade project. “CarbonStar provides design, construction, and concrete manufacturing professionals with the ability to specify low embodied carbon concrete mixes as they address their building projects’ approach to reducing impacts on climate change,” said Anthony Bernheim, SFO Healthy and Resilient Buildings Program Manager.