Low-Carbon Concrete for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions In California A Technical Report for

1. Low-Carbon Concrete for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions In California A Technical Report for Coalition for a Safe Environment Wilmington, California June 24, 2011 Presented by: Dominic Meo III, P.E., BCEE Meo & Associates Consulting Engineers Huntington Beach, California www.meoandassociates.com

2. What You Will Hear Today • What is Low-Carbon Concrete? • Introduction to DMI in Oxnard, CA • Introduction to Making Low-Carbon Concrete • Reducing GHG Emissions from Cement Industry in California • Adopting a GHG Emission-Performance Standard for Concrete • Benefits of Adopting GHG Emission Standard for Concrete

3. What You Will Hear Today(Continued) • Estimating the Emissions from Cement Facilities in California • Estimating the Cap-and-Trade Emission Reduction from Cement Facilities • Estimating the Potential GHG Reductions in California Using Low-Carbon Concrete • Adopting Incentives for Production of Low-Carbon Concrete • Examples of Using Credits to Promote Low-Carbon Concrete

4. What You Will Hear Today(Continued) • Overcoming Resistance from CARB • Benefits of Working on the Local Level • Summary and Conclusions (Please Ask Questions!)

5. 1. What is Low-Carbon Concrete? • Concrete is comprised of cement, water, sand, aggregate and additives • All of these materials require fossil fuels for manufacturing and transportation to the ready-mix plant where the concrete is made • The use of recycled materials, such as fly ash from coal-burning power plants reduces the amount of fossil fuel needed to make concrete, thereby reducing its “carbon footprint”

6. 1. What is Low-Carbon Concrete?(continued) • Concrete with a reduced carbon footprint is referred to as low-carbon concrete

7. 2. Introduction to DMI in Oxnard, CA • Operating for over 20 years • Manufacture custom-blended cement and concrete products, utilizing fly ash, bentonite clay (API), lime, slag, recycled aggregates and other low-carbon alternatives to conventional materials • Can receive and ship products in bulk via Union Pacific railcar or ship through Port of Hueneme

8. 2. Introduction to DMI in Oxnard, CA(continued) • On-site laboratory tests samples of innovative concrete products to confirm compliance with national building and construction standards • Low-carbon products meet ASTM standards for high-performance concrete and provide LEED Green Building credits for sustainable construction • Exploring innovative concrete reinforced with plastic fibers instead of rebar

9. 3. Introduction to Making Low-Carbon Concrete Carbon Footprint of Reinforced Concrete Nielson, Claus V. “Carbon Footprint of Concrete Buildings Seen in the Life Cycle Perspective,” NRMCA 2008 Concrete Technology Forum, June 2008, Denver

10. 3. Introduction to Making Low-Carbon Concrete (continued) • Key term in understanding how low-carbon concrete is made: Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) • Using SCMs greatly reduces carbon content in cement and concrete • Very important point – SCMs have not been added to help the environment; they have been added to improve performance of the concrete

11. 3. Introduction to Making Low-Carbon Concrete (continued) • Adding SCMs to improve performance is an established technology in the concrete industry • Avoiding GHG emissions is a new twist on an accepted practice • Caltrans has been adding fly ash to their concrete mixes for a long time • “Greenbook” standards are already written! • LEED Green Building standards have required use of SCMs for a long time

12. 3. Introduction to Making Low-Carbon Concrete (continued) • LEED stands for Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design, and just about every city has a LEED Green Building program • LEED standards in New York City limit cement to 400 lbs. per cubic yard of concrete • This is a quick, simple, practical way to limit the GHG potential of concrete • Why not do this in LA?

13. California DOT Promotes Low-Carbon Concrete

14. California DOT Promotes Low-Carbon Concrete(continued)

15. 4. Reducing GHG Emissions from Cement Industry in California • CARB plans to reduce GHG emissions using the new “Cap-and-Trade” Program which was created in response to AB 32 • The goal is to steadily reduce GHG emissions, so that by 2020, the emissions will be the same as in 1990 • Currently, AB 32 covers 360 businesses, operating at 600 facilities

16. 4. Reducing GHG Emissions from Cement Industry in California(continued) • As originally planned, the GHG emissions from these 360 businesses would be capped in 2012 at (estimated) 168.5 million metric tons, and the cap would be reduced 2% per year between 2012 - 2014 • Beginning in 2015, additional companies would be added to the program, the cap would increase to 394.5 million metric tons, and the reduction would increase to 3% per year until 2020

17. 4. Reducing GHG Emissions from Cement Industry in California(continued) • All major cement companies in California are opposed to using SCMs to reduce GHG emissions, claiming this would significantly increase the cost of doing business • Some major cement companies are threatening to increase cement imports if domestic production is impacted by CARB regulations, thus creating GHG “leakage”

18. 4. Reducing GHG Emissions from Cement Industry (continued) • Unfortunately, offsets available to cement companies (such as planting trees) are not directly related to producing cement, and these offsets can be used to meet no more than 8 percent of an annual GHG reduction • To summarize: CARB wants on-site (in-cap) reductions or planting trees, and the cement industry wants no regulation-driven changes in how they make cement

19. 4. Reducing GHG Emissions from Cement Industry (continued) • So, how do we resolve this impasse? • And, can we devise a more meaningful way to reduce GHG emissions?

20. 5. The Solution – Adopting a GHG Emission-Performance Standard for Concrete • SB 1368 set a GHG emission performance standard for electrical power • Power purchased by utilities under long-term power contracts is limited to 1 metric ton of CO2 per MW-hour of power produced • The obvious intent is to “level the playing field” in the electrical power industry • “Clean,” in-state power can now compete with the cost of “dirty,” out-of-state power

21. 5. Adopting a GHG Emission Performance Standard for Concrete(continued) • Use the precedent set by SB 1368 to adopt a GHG-emission standard for concrete (not cement) to promote low-carbon concrete in California • Base the new standard on GHG emissions produced by making standard ASTM C94 ready-mixed concrete without SCMs, using cement made in California (not imported cement!)

22. 5. Adopting a GHG Emission Performance Standard for Concrete(continued) • Question: Why should we set a standard for concrete, not cement? • Answer: Concrete is only 18% cement; keep the door open to reducing carbon content of all the other ingredients in concrete. • To make it work, we need a verification protocol to prevent cheating

23. 5. Adopting a GHG Emission Performance Standard for Concrete(continued) • The good news is that Caltrans already has a protocol for verifying compliance with their concrete formulations • The “Greenbook” used for public projects has extensive standards and specifications for cement and concrete using SCMs

24. 6. Benefits of Adopting GHG Emission Standard for Concrete • Does not increase cost of making cement in California • Promotes domestic cement production and discourages imports, thereby protecting jobs at California cement plants • Offers an incentive for developing innovative, low-carbon concrete mixes • Discourages importing of “high-carbon” Chinese cement, thereby minimizing “leakage” of GHG emissions

25. 6. Benefits of Adopting GHG Emission Standard for Concrete (continued) • These are big statements! • I need to see the numbers – quantify the benefits of using low-carbon concrete to reduce GHG emissions

26. 7. Estimating the Emissions from Cement Facilities in California Where GHG Emissions Come From CARB website address http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cement/meetings/041008/041008presentations.pdf

27. 7. Estimating the Emissions from Cement Facilities in California (continued) • Using CARB data, 2004 GHG emissions from all sources in California = 480 million metric tons = 528 million U.S. tons • Industrial Sector = 20% of total = 105.6 million U.S. tons • Cement Sector = 9% of Industrial Sector = 9.5 million U.S. tons of GHG emissions

28. 8. Estimating the Cap-and-Trade Emission Reduction from Cement Facilities in 2012 • Assuming the maximum GHG reduction is 2%, as envisioned by current draft rule • 2% of 9.5 million U.S. tons of GHG emissions= 190,000 U.S. tons of GHG emissions • So, how significant is this? • Can we find more meaningful reductions? • Remember that cement industry is going to fight like hell to do nothing…

29. 9. Estimating the Potential GHG Reductions in California Using Low-Carbon Concrete • Approximately 10 million tons of cement are sold in California every year (CAT data) • This cement is used to make over 50 million tons of concrete (cement is only 18% of concrete) • Producing only low-carbon concrete, made with 25% less carbon would produce a GHG reduction of 12.5 million tons of CO2 • Compare 12.5 million tons, using low-carbon concrete to 190,000 tons, using cap-and-trade

30. 9. Estimating the Potential GHG Reductions in California Using Low-Carbon Concrete(continued) • If only 760,000 tons of low-carbon concrete were produced annually, the GHG reduction would equal the 2% reduction required by cap-and-trade, or 190,000 tons of GHG • 760,000 tons of low-carbon concrete would represent only 2% of all concrete made each year in California • These calculations assume low-carbon concrete is made with 25% less carbon than conventional concrete (Caltrans spec.)

31. 10. Adopting Incentives for Producing Low-Carbon Concrete • Recognize low-carbon concrete as an environmental mitigation on CEQA projects • Award carbon credits for production of verified low-carbon concrete products, which have carbon contents lower than the(SB 1368-style) emission-performance standard discussed above • Make sure these carbon credits can be used to reduce GHG emissions in all industrial sectors of California, including: cement, power and refineries

32. 11. Examples of Using Credits for Producing Low-Carbon Concrete • Allow cement manufacturers to take credit for low-carbon concrete made with their cement, breaking the CARB requirement that GHG reductions by cement industry must be either on-site or through offsets, such as planting trees • Allow power companies to take credit for low-carbon concrete made with their fly ash

33. 11. Examples of Using Credits for Producing Low-Carbon Concrete (continued) • Allow refineries to take credit for constructing low-carbon support pads and spill-protection berms for tank farms • Allow Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to take credit for low-carbon concrete made with fly ash collected from stacks of vessels berthed at the ports

34. 12. Overcoming Resistance from CARB • CARB Board is concerned about leakage from cement industry: promote low-carbon concrete as a low-cost “leak-stopper” • Sponsor legislation to enact a new (SB 1368-style) GHG Emission Performance Standard for concrete sold in California • Meet with CARB to share ideas and strategies • Tour DMI to see innovative low-carbon products being produced

35. 12. Overcoming Resistance from CARB (continued) • Find a sponsor to use low-carbon concrete on a demonstration project • Develop protocols and standards for making low-carbon concrete products; use “Greenbook” as a starting point • Train independent GHG verifiers who will verify production of low-carbon concrete

36. 13. Working on the Local Level • This may be a great state program some day, but what can we do more quickly on a local level? • Promote LEED standards for new construction, using low-carbon concrete • Refer to successful examples of using low-carbon concrete, such as the California Science Center in Los Angeles • Insist that low-carbon concrete be used an environmental mitigation on local CEQA projects

37. 14. Summary and Conclusions • Low-carbon concrete is not new; it has been around for a long time • The only new concept is using SCMs to reduce GHG emissions • CARB has ruled out using low-carbon concrete as a GHG mitigation for the cement industry because producing low-carbon concrete may not directly reduce CO2 emissions at the cement plant

38. 14. Summary and Conclusions(continued) • The GHG-reduction benefits offered by low-carbon concrete for everyone living in California go way beyond the narrow scope of the cap-and-trade program • Potential GHG reductions from using low-carbon concrete are on the order of 1.3 times all the GHG emissions produced by the entire cement sector in 2004

39. 14. Summary and Conclusions(continued) • All the regulatory tools needed to implement a low-carbon concrete program in California are already in place • Using the precedent set by SB 1368, CARB should set a maximum carbon footprint for standard, ASTM C94 ready-mixed concrete, based on using California (not imported) cement

40. 14. Summary and Conclusions(continued) • Producers of concrete mixes with a carbon content lower than the new standard should be awarded carbon credits, which could be sold to any industry captured by the new cap-and-trade regulation • Community activists will play a major role in reducing GHG emissions through the use of low-carbon concrete on the state and local level • Meo & Associates is ready to support you