Lehigh Hanson is extending its recently launched, carbon-wise EcoCem portland limestone cement series with EcoCem PLUS, milled at its Edmonton plant in Alberta, Canada, and available in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The product provides strength and durability while significantly reducing the carbon footprint in concrete.
EcoCem PLUS is produced by inter-grinding clinker, fly ash, limestone and gypsum. The material outperforms traditional CSA Group-grade HS powder in resisting sulphate attack – common in the Prairie Provinces – and carries a CSA designation of HSLb (High Sulphate Limestone blend).
Finishing EcoCem PLUS in Edmonton provides a high level of quality control; simplifies the supply chain; streamlines silo or storage requirements at fixed or portable concrete operations; and assures customers, engineers and end-users consistent proportions of materials critical to concrete durability.
“The motivation behind the EcoCem brand of products is to reduce the embodied carbon of cement and concrete,” said Shawn McMillan, vice president, cement for Lehigh Hanson’s Canada Region. “The introduction of EcoCem PLUS to the Prairie market builds on our commitment to providing environmentally responsible types of cement that deliver excellent performance while dramatically reducing CO2 emissions.”
EcoCem PLUS can lower the carbon footprint by more than 22% as compared to Lehigh’s General Use (GU) cement and 32% compared to the current industry average GU cement when comparing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), the company noted.
In addition to the launch of EcoCem PLUS, Lehigh Cement published product and plant-specific EPDs for all of its cement products produced at the Edmonton plant. The document was prepared with Climate Earth in Berkeley, Calif., and published by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, an EPD Program Operator whose library of Lehigh Cement and peer operator declarations is posted here.
“Our plant- and product-specific EPDs communicate the environmental impact through Global Warming Potential for cement in a simple and easy-to-understand manner,” said Lehigh Hanson Canada Region President Joerg Nixdorf. “We were the first North American cement producer to create and publish a plant and product-specific EPD for our cement under the new and more stringent cement Product Category Rule. This work is providing concrete with the ability to reduce its embodied carbon in the built environment.”
