In consideration of setting requirements for low carbon cement and concrete for the Government of Canada

The Government of Canada’s (GC) Greening Government Strategy includes the following commitments:

• The government will reduce the environmental impact of building materials using life-cycle assessment techniques to minimize embodied carbon and the use of harmful materials in construction and renovation.

• The government will aid the transition to a low-carbon economy through green procurement that includes life-cycle assessment principles and the adoption of clean technologies and green products and services by including criteria that address carbon reduction, sustainable plastics and broader environmental benefits into procurements by departments for goods and services that have a high environmental impact.

The Government of Canada is considering setting mandatory minimum requirements for the procurement of low carbon concrete. This RFI seeks feedback to assist in the development of requirements designed to achieve environmental objectives and support a competitive and resilient marketplace.

Requirements under consideration are:

• Starting 2021, and phasing in over 12 months to support market readiness, all general use cement specified by GC will be Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) or equivalent

From this 10% lower-carbon baseline, GC designers will be required to reduce further emissions by specifying low-carbon concrete:

• Starting [Month, Year] all concrete specified by GC will require product-and-facility-specific Type III Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or equivalent.
• Starting [Month, Year] GC will publish maximum carbon intensity values for concrete specified on a range of project types which will set mandatory lower-carbon benchmarks for concrete purchased by GC. (The GC intends to collaborate with the architects and engineers, and cement and concrete, sectors to set benchmarks.)

To assist the GC in considering these requirements interested parties are invited to answer questions and provide feedback.

Questions are broken down by discipline:

ANNEX 1 Questions for architects, engineers and associated interested parties

ANNEX 2 Questions for cement and concrete suppliers and associated interested parties

Respondents may respond to either or both Annexes.

This is not a bid solicitation. This RFI will not result in the award of any contract. Responding to this RFI will not preclude respondents from participating in any future procurement. This RFI is simply intended to solicit feedback from industry with respect to the matters described in this RFI.

The Government of Canada will not reimburse any respondent for expenses incurred in responding to this RFI.

The Government of Canada want to thank you in advance for your participation!

Feedback to the RFI is to be submitted electronically (by email) to:

greening-vert@tbs-sct.gc.ca