If you've passed a construction site this summer, you've brushed up against one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions facing the planet.

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The concrete industry is responsible for about 7% of global emissions, and that’s set to rise sharply over the next quarter-century as cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America balloon and create new demand for high-rises, highways and hydro dams. A new study by the World Economic Forum says emissions from cement could rise 23% by 2050, eating into possible gains made by energy and agriculture.

A bold engineering effort to recycle that carbon – literally burying it in concrete – may be the best hope to offset that growth.

Think of it as a blue box for carbon.

“Carbon utilization” involves sucking carbon out of the atmosphere and injecting it into concrete. It’s a rapidly growing practice.

Rob Niven, a Canadian pioneer in the field, sees the technology as an economic opportunity as much as an environmental one.

“Instead of throwing (carbon) away, you’re actually turning it into something valuable,” Niven says on the latest episode of RBC Disruptors, our weekly podcast on how technology is changing everything around us.

Niven’s Halifax-based company, CarbonCure, has its technology installed in more than 250 sites worldwide. As countries like China and India spend heavily on urban infrastructure, Niven believes there could be 100,000 sites globally in need of the Canadian technology.

“We’re building a New York City every month for the next 40 years,” says Jennifer Wagner, CarbonCure’s president.

According to a recent study by McKinsey & Co., new technologies could help the cement industry cut its 2017-level emissions by more than three-quarters by 2050.

A coalition led by the World Economic Forum is trying to get major emitters to commit to targets and put the concrete and cement industry on a path to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. But they’ll need breakthrough technologies to get there.

“If you can find alignment between the economic gain and the environmental benefit, then you have something that’s truly scalable in a global fashion,” Niven says.

Some other highlights from our conversation with Niven and Wagner:

1. The world won’t get to Net Zero without concrete

A lot of the climate debate focuses on oil and gas, as the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Concrete plays a critical role, too, as a major source that could increase in the decades ahead without new technologies.

2. Industry needs change

The cement and concrete industries are among the least efficient users of energy, and will need to become much more cost-effective as governments push builders to do more with less.

3. Technology is key

The McKinsey study found process improvement might account for only 20% of the needed emissions cuts in the sector. Every cubic yard of concrete that uses carbon utilization technologies, on the other hand, can save 25 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. A highrise can do the work of nearly 900 acres of forest.

4. Governments can shift markets

Government is the biggest buyer of concrete, largely for big infrastructure projects. In the U.S., many states and municipalities now require builders to commit to lower emissions – something Canadian governments are starting to do, too.

5. It’s not just about future emissions

Even if the world shut down the use of fossil fuels and concrete today, there’s enough carbon sitting in the atmosphere to still cause problems. Carbon capture, utilization and storage can pull those old emissions back, and stick them in the ground – or in concrete.

Updated to clarify references that are to concrete instead of cement.

 

As Senior Vice-President, Office of the CEO, John advises the executive leadership on emerging trends in Canada’s economy, providing insights grounded in his travels across the country and around the world. His work focuses on technological change and innovation, examining how to successfully navigate the new economy so more people can thrive in the age of disruption. Prior to joining RBC, John spent nearly 25 years at the Globe and Mail, where he served as editor-in-chief, editor of Report on Business, and a foreign correspondent in New Delhi, India. Having interviewed a range of prominent world leaders and figures, including Vladimir Putin, Kofi Annan, and Benazir Bhutto, he possesses a deep understanding of national and international affairs. In the community, John serves as a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs, C.D. ‎Howe Institute and is a member of the advisory council for both the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute and the Canadian International Council. John is the author of four books: Out of Poverty, Timbit Nation, and Mass Disruption: Thirty Years on the Front Lines of a Media Revolution and Planet Canada: How Our Expats Are Shaping the Future.

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