Vital Statistics
Offsets: 250,000 metric tons carbon dioxide
Equivalent to taking 49,801 cars off the road for a year
Project Type: Material Substitution
Project Lifetime: 5 years
Contract Signing Date: 2004
Location: National
Project Partners:
• Horst, Inc
• Cool Climate Concrete

Project Description
The Climate Trust has contracted to purchase offsets from a project that encourages the use of blended cement. The manufacturing process for conventional cement releases approximately one ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of cement produced. In blended cement, industrial byproducts replace part of the conventional cement reducing carbon intensity while maintaining structural integrity. The Climate Trust will pay Horst Inc., a leading firm in sustainable design services and materials, to recruit participants and provide incentives for using blended cement concrete in construction and civil works projects.

How the project reduces CO₂
During the manufacturing of Portland cement, greenhouse gases are generated and released through two events: fossil fuel burning by the cement kiln to make clinker and the calcination process of cement clinker production. For every ton of Portland Cement produced, approximately one ton of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. The use of blended cements in concretes reduces the amount of Portland Cement used in construction, and in turn, also reduces the amount of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere with the use of standard, unblended cement in concretes.

1. Cement companies who manufacture blended cement
2. Concrete companies
3. Concrete product companies

Part of Horst’s funding is contingent on certification of the use of blended cement concrete, and incentives are in place for Horst Inc. to exceed the targeted amount of carbon dioxide benefit.

• Utilize industrial by-products as raw materials for cement
• Reduce the need to extract conventional raw materials
• Reduce concrete production costs

• Horst, Inc.
• Cool Climate Concrete

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