Concrete production offers a new opportunity to generate carbon credits, stemming from the ability to lock carbon in concrete through CO₂ mineralization. 

While interest in carbon removal credits has recently been gaining momentum, carbon credits aren’t new. First introduced in 1997 as part of the Kyoto Protocol, they were created as a financial incentive for companies to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

But what exactly is a carbon credit?

Carbon credits are permits or certificates issued by third-party registries, such as Verra or Gold Standard, on behalf of companies that have positively impacted CO₂. One carbon credit represents one metric tonne of CO₂ that has been reduced, avoided or removed from the atmosphere. 

After a company generates a carbon credit, it can be sold to another company that can’t reduce its own emissions, has net-zero goals, or wants to support low carbon initiatives. A carbon credit essentially allows the CO₂ reductions made by one party to compensate for emissions made by another.

A number of different projects can be used to create the CO₂ impact needed to generate carbon credits. For example:

• Forestry projects and tree-planting schemes that capture carbon
• Direct air capture projects that pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
• Carbon storage projects that pump CO₂ underground to be stored and mineralized

CO₂ mineralized concrete falls into this last category and offers an exciting new revenue opportunity for concrete producers. When a concrete producer mineralizes CO₂and receives a verified carbon credit, they can generate additional revenue by selling the credit to another organization.

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