Decarbonizing the nation’s ever-expanding urban built environment to stabilize global warming and the impact of population growth is more urgent than ever. The state of Colorado is pursuing one of the nation’s most ambitious climate action plans, working toward reduced emission targets of 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050.
To help the construction industry meet these evolving standards, Holcim US is expanding its innovative ECOPact low-carbon concrete to the fast-growing Colorado Springs, Denver, and Pueblo markets. ECOPact reduces the embodied carbon of concrete building materials from 30% to 90%, compared with standard concrete, and its global warming potential (GWP) is verified in an environmental product declaration (EPD).
“Sustainable construction is essential to building a net-zero future in Colorado and across the nation,” said Kevin Peart, SVP and general manager, mountain region, at Holcim US. “Metro Denver has consistently ranked as one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation, and Colorado Springs is projected to become the state’s largest city within the next 15 years. Low-carbon, high-performance building solutions such as ECOPact are essential to mitigating climate change and creating a more sustainable, resilient urban landscape.”
Colorado’s new Buy Clean Colorado Act aims to meet bold emission-reduction goals by using EPDs to drive the use of low-embodied-carbon materials. The model green-building legislation mandates the submission of EPDs and requires the office of the state architect to establish maximum acceptable GWPs for all construction materials used in public projects.
From university and health care facilities to condominiums and industrial buildings, ECOPact low-carbon concrete has increasingly been the solution of choice for reducing the embodied carbon of high-performance buildings throughout the northeastern, mid-Atlantic and north-central regions of the U.S.
ECOPact low-carbon concrete mixes are now part of job sites throughout Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, to meet stringent structural performance specifications aligned with high standards of sustainability. Compliant with all industry standards, the concrete is available in a wide range of low-carbon levels and strength classes, and it can be used in all types of applications, regardless of performance requirements.
