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Introducing CarbonStar: The First Binational Standard for Quantifying the Carbon Intensity of Concrete

Date: Oct 30 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: APHA Media Relations

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The Smart Surfaces Coalition, CSA Group (formerly the Canadian Standards Association), the World Cement Association, and the American Public Health Association announce the introduction of CarbonStar®, a new binational standard to quantify the carbon impact of concrete. CarbonStar [CSA/ANSI R118:2024, CarbonStar®: Concrete Carbon Intensity Quantification and Verification] provides a simple, rigorous way to compare the embodied carbon in concrete. Concrete is the most-used building material on the planet and is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

"CarbonStar is the only bi-national standard for the quantification and verification of the carbon intensity in concrete,” said Greg Kats, CEO of the Smart Surfaces Coalition. “We are working with cities that make up more than 10 percent of the US population, and our city partners all want to cut pollution and become more resilient. CarbonStar is essential because it is the first user-friendly standard enabling cities to effectively quantify and decarbonize their concrete.”

Developed by consensus with leading industry, government, academic, and other experts working together since 2020, CarbonStar is an official American and Canadian standard that is compliant with both the American National Standards Institute and the Standards Council of Canada accreditation requirements.

“The publication of the CarbonStar standard provides a way for project owners to quantify and specify carbon intensity of concrete,” said Ian Riley, CEO of the World Cement Association. It offers stakeholders a comprehensive guide to utilizing low-carbon and carbon-sequestering concrete materials, placing sustainability at the forefront of development. “This is an important step forward for the construction and concrete industries,” Riley said.

“Successful climate-change mitigation and carbon sequestration requires rigorous consensus standards. CarbonStar provides this for the essential effort of decarbonizing concrete,” said Sarah Saltzer, who served on the standard development committee and is Managing Director of the Stanford University Center for Carbon Storage.

Establishing a universal approach for calculating the carbon intensity of concrete enables consistent carbon quantification of various concrete products, regardless of their production methods or materials. That’s why the San Francisco Airport has already started using CarbonStar as a core part of their $11 billion infrastructure upgrade project. “CarbonStar provides design, construction, and concrete manufacturing professionals with the ability to specify low embodied carbon concrete mixes as they address their building projects’ approach to reducing impacts on climate change,” said Anthony Bernheim, SFO Healthy and Resilient Buildings Program Manager. “SFO is using CarbonStar for its infrastructure upgrade because it is a rigorous and relatively simple method to measure the carbon intensity of concrete.”

The CarbonStar standards committee included representatives from the General Services Administration, which manages most US federal buildings, the Department of General Services, which oversees California’s public buildings, and other technical experts from both the United States and Canada, including major building owners. CarbonStar is modeled on Energy Star.

Leading health advocates support the new standard. "CarbonStar is already enabling innovation that addresses not just global warming, but other health damaging pollution as well. As the leading voice for public health in the United States, the American Public Health Association is keenly aware of the enormous health costs of climate change, which disproportionately burden the most climate-sensitive populations,” said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association.

CarbonStar includes a calculator, allowing users to directly assess the embodied carbon in concrete. The CarbonStar standard and calculator support existing marketplace products--including Environmental Product Declarations--to help provide consistent and rigorous quantification of the carbon impacts of various forms of concrete and concrete mixes.

For general information about CarbonStar, please visit the CSA Group webpage. The CarbonStar standard and calculator are available here. For more information about the potential use and application of CarbonStar adoption, please visit www.carbonstarstandard.org.

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The Smart Surfaces Coalition is a collaboration of 40 partner organizations dedicated to transforming cities through smarter, more resilient surface technologies such as highly reflective roofs and low-carbon concrete. Citywide Smart Surfaces adoption enables cities to cut summer heat, reduce energy consumption, address urban inequality, improve public health and slow global warming.

 

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CSA Group is a global organization dedicated to safety, social good and sustainability. We are a leader in North American standards development and in product testing, inspection, and certification around the world. Our mandate is to hold the future to a higher standard.

 

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The American Public Health Association champions optimal, equitable health and well-being for all. With our broad-based member community and 150-year perspective, we influence federal policy to improve the public’s health. Learn more at www.apha.org.