Ecocem Global

Green Public Procurement is one of the most effective tools governments have to accelerate decarbonisation in construction. As the International Institute for Sustainable Development highlights, Ireland's move to make green procurement the default has shown what is possible when public purchasing is aligned with climate ambitions. Susan McGarry, Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability at Ecocem, notes in the IISD Economies publication: "In 2024, the Irish government took a bold step towards a more sustainable future by mandating green procurement requirements for low-carbon cement. At Ecocem, we have been at the forefront of low-carbon solutions in the cement and concrete sector in Ireland for many years. By making green public procurement the default, the government now provides the critical demand signal for the industry to innovate and invest in low-carbon production." Ireland's experience shows that when governments provide clear, consistent demand signals, industry responds. The challenge now is to build on these successes and make low-carbon procurement the norm, not the exception, across Europe.

Low‑carbon cement is no longer a future ambition. It’s already a reality.     To accelerate adoption at scale, the Materials Science Advisory Council has been established, bringing together leading global experts to support the transition worldwide. Advances in materials science mean significant emissions reductions can already be achieved without changes to existing processes. The focus now is scaling these solutions across standards, markets and projects.     That requires more than innovation alone. It calls for stronger collaboration, shared understanding, and clear, science‑based guidance across the industry.    As Roberta Alfani, Research and Innovation Director at Ecocem, explains:     “Materials science has advanced to a point where the global decarbonisation of cement using alternative materials, and without major process investments is not just possible, it is a proven reality. While technological innovation is essential to decarbonise cement and concrete, it is only part of the solution. Achieving meaningful change at scale requires collaboration across the value chain from science and standards, policy and regulation, to procurement, finance, and construction.     The Materials Science Advisory Council brings together some of the world's leading experts in cement, concrete and materials science and has been established to provide science-based evidence and support continuous dialogue between leading academics, policy makers, industry partners, and funders, with a clear objective of accelerating the adoption of scalable low-carbon cement technologies that can transform the carbon footprint of our industry.”     By connecting scientific expertise with real‑world decision‑making, the Materials Science Advisory Council aims to support widespread adoption of scalable cost-effective low-carbon cement technologies.      Next, we’ll be introducing the experts behind the Council. You can find out more about the Materials Science Advisory Council here: https://lnkd.in/d6bDdCda

Last week, our Research and Innovation Director, Roberta Alfani, and several members of our Research and Innovation team, represented Ecocem at the Technical University of Munich / American Concrete Institute Conference in Munich, sharing how innovation and scientific research are helping to shape the future of cement.    From our breakthrough low-carbon cement technologies to the significant research advancements being developed across our teams, it was an excellent opportunity to discuss the practical pathways to reducing carbon in construction.   Thank you to ACI for bringing together experts from across the industry to drive these important conversations. #Ecocem #LowCarbon #ResearchAndInnovation

The technology exists. Now we need to scale it. Europe already has many of the technologies needed to decarbonise heavy industry. The challenge is no longer whether the solutions exist, but whether the right policy and market conditions are in place to enable their widespread deployment. We're pleased to join Environmental Defense Fund Europe's Business Innovation series, where our Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability, Susan McGarry, discusses how commercially available low-carbon cement technologies can help decarbonise an industry responsible for around 8% of global CO₂ emissions. The conversation explores why the next phase of industrial decarbonisation depends on creating the right conditions for innovation to scale - through standards, procurement, industrial policy and investment certainty. These are the levers that will determine how quickly proven technologies can transform Europe's built environment while strengthening its industrial competitiveness. Thank you to the Environmental Defense Fund Europe team for the opportunity to discuss the role that policy can play in accelerating the transition to low-carbon construction. 🎥 Watch the full conversation below. #IndustrialDecarbonisation #LowCarbonCement #ClimateAction #EuropeanCompetitiveness #CleanIndustry #Innovation #Construction #NetZero

The biggest barriers to cement decarbonisation are no longer technical. They are regulatory. The technologies to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of cement already exist. The challenge now is creating the market conditions that allow them to scale. In the latest edition of World Cement, our Director of Public Affairs & Sustainability, Susan McGarry, explores why the next phase of cement decarbonisation depends not only on innovation, but on policy, procurement and regulation working together. In Breaking the Carbon Barrier, Susan argues that: • The industry has proven low-carbon cement technologies are ready today.  • Performance-based standards can unlock faster innovation.  • Public procurement has a vital role in accelerating adoption.  • Collaboration across the value chain is essential to deliver decarbonisation at scale. At Ecocem, we've spent 25 years demonstrating that industrial competitiveness and deep decarbonisation can go hand in hand. The next challenge isn't inventing new solutions, it's enabling proven ones to become the new normal. 📖 Read Susan's article in the July edition of World Cement (pages 52–54). Link in the comments below ⬇️ #LowCarbonCement #IndustrialDecarbonisation #NetZero #Construction #Concrete #Sustainability #Innovation #ClimateAction #Cement

At the start of Ireland's EU Presidency, our Managing Director, Conor O'Riain, joined European leaders to discuss how the Single Market can unlock faster industrial decarbonisation. Ecocem was honoured to be invited by Minister Peter Burke, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Tourism & Employment, to meet with European Ministers, Director Generals from the European Commission and national and EU Government representatives. As an Irish-founded company with a strong European presence, Ecocem was delighted to contribute to this important discussion at the beginning of Ireland's Presidency term. For 25 years, Ecocem has demonstrated that industrial competitiveness and decarbonisation can go hand in hand. As the EU seeks to strengthen its industrial base while accelerating the transition to net zero, innovative companies need a Single Market that enables new technologies to scale quickly. Conor shared Ecocem's experience of growing market access across Europe, building strong partnerships throughout the construction value chain and delivering low-carbon cement technologies for some of Europe's most ambitious infrastructure projects. While the Single Market has been fundamental to Ecocem's growth, there is still much work to do. Europe has the innovation, expertise and industrial capability to lead the global transition to low-carbon construction, but innovation must be matched by faster market access. Our message was clear: Europe needs to remove the remaining barriers that slow the deployment of proven clean technologies by: ·         Enabling European low-carbon technologies to scale in Europe first. ·         Harmonising standards faster. ·         Supporting first-of-a-kind industrial deployment. ·         Creating demand through public procurement.

One of the defining challenges for the construction sector is how to decarbonise cement, responsible for almost 8% of all global emissions.  Scaling low-carbon cement solutions has been the challenge historically. No longer. Technologies that can scale cost effectively and deliver a 70% reduction of CO2 are now available.  The solutions exist and the opportunity is clear. The challenge now is ensuring the right conditions are in place to deploy them at scale. That requires greater alignment and cooperation between policy makers, regulators and the construction supply chain  To support and accelerate progress, the Materials Science Advisory Council has been established. Bringing together leading global experts to support the faster adoption of low‑carbon cement solutions.    As Donal O’Riain, Founder and CEO of Ecocem, outlines:     "Decarbonising cement is the biggest challenge facing construction today. Cement is responsible for almost 8% of global CO2 emissions and must be fully decarbonised by 2050. An industry revolution in low-carbon, innovative solutions is essential, and we face a range of challenging technology and economic decisions if we are to achieve our ambition.  Technologies which can deliver a 70% reduction in CO2 from cement, cost effectively and within a decade, already exist. They have been independently validated and are now gaining market access. At the same time, new technologies are being developed to get to zero emissions. Yet all this counts for little if we cannot accelerate industry adoption of new, low carbon technologies. To do this we need deeper partnership, collaboration and joined up thinking between science, policy, regulators, industry, and the investment community. Ecocem’s Materials Science Advisory Council brings together some of the world's leading experts in cement, concrete and materials science. The Council’s purpose is to accelerate the global transition to net zero carbon cement by providing clear, relevant, realistic, and expert guidance on low carbon cement technologies to the cement and concrete industries, policymakers, regulators, and investors."     By connecting global expertise with real‑world decision‑making, the Material Science Advisory Council will work to close the gap between what is proven and what is delivered. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be spotlighting the members of the Council.    You can read more about the Materials Advisory Council by clicking the link in the comments ⬇️

Europe has a significant opportunity to lead the development and deployment of low-carbon cement technologies. Speaking to fDi Intelligence, Ecocem Founder and CEO Donal O'Riain discusses why maintaining that leadership will depend on supporting innovation and accelerating the adoption of proven technologies. Link to the full article in the comments below.

The challenge is no longer finding ways to reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete. The challenge is deploying them at scale. Across the construction sector, proven solutions already exist to significantly reduce emissions at source. They are available today, delivering results on real projects. The question is no longer if we can decarbonise cement and concrete. It's how quickly we can make low-carbon solutions the norm. That's why Ecocem France is proud to join Bouygues Construction, CBGreen and Point.P in launching ABCD - Action Béton & Ciment Durables – Action Béton & Ciment Durables. ABCD brings together organisations from across the construction value chain with a shared ambition: to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon cement and concrete, support the evolution of standards, and help create the conditions for wider deployment across the market. Decarbonising construction will require collective action. By working together, we can help turn solutions that are already proven into solutions that are used at scale.