LANGFORD, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As a first adopter of carbon mineralization technology provided by CarbonCure Technologies (CarbonCure), Butler Concrete and Aggregate (Butler Concrete), based out of Victoria, British Columbia, is proud to announce that it exclusively offers low-carbon concrete to all customers. All commercial and residential projects are supplied with low-carbon concrete, in alignment with the City of Langford’s Low Carbon Concrete Policy effective June 1, 2022. After water, concrete is the most consumed material in the world. It is used in all aspects of our lives, from building construction to infrastructure projects such as roadways, sidewalks, schools, hospitals, and airport runways. For this reason, a multi-stakeholder approach is required to accelerate climate action in the built environment.
“The City of Langford deserves tremendous praise for policy action that will yield real, tangible climate impacts on the local environment. It’s great to see policymakers drive change and highlight the importance of green initiatives,” said Travis Butler, President of Butler Concrete and Aggregate. “Butler Concrete is proud to have consulted Langford officials and supported the development of this pioneering policy and I’m thrilled that we are part of building a city with goals to be greener and cleaner with sustainable concrete.”
Concrete is made with water, aggregate, cement, and product enhancing admixtures. Cement contributing as much as 7% of global greenhouses gas emissions. Reducing greenhouse gas is one of the most pressing problems facing the building materials and construction sector. Concrete, however, also has a unique ability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) within its structure through a process called carbon mineralization.
Using CarbonCure’s carbon mineralization technology, Butler Concrete permanently sequesters CO2 in concrete products during the production phase. Captured CO2 is injected into fresh concrete where a chemical reaction immediately takes place that increases the compressive strength allowing for less cement use. The two-fold benefit of mineralizing CO2 and using less cement in the production of concrete has enabled Butler Concrete to produce concrete products that have one of the lowest embodied carbon values listed anywhere in North America.
Over the past few years Butler Concrete has supplied, or continues to supply, a number of development projects within the City of Langford such as Sky Gate by Highstreet Ventures; Centennial Court by Ironclad Developments; Quailwood Place Apartments by Woodsmere Holdings; Villa Virtuoso by Virtuoso Capital Ventures; Belmont Residents West by Ledcor Developments and Knappett Projects Inc; and the Ridge Homes by Liberty Ridge Homes. The combination of these local projects has achieved a reduction in embodied carbon or CO2 emissions equivalent to 2.2 million liters of gasoline or the amount of carbon sequestered by 6.2 thousand acres of forest in 1 year.
“With this policy, Langford is demonstrating climate leadership that will have meaningful impact for decades to come,” said CarbonCure Chair and CEO and Vancouver Island resident Robert Niven. “Cities across British Columbia and Canada should follow suit with similar policies to reduce their carbon footprints and accelerate the transition to low-carbon concrete.”
Butler Concrete also provides evidence-based and third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to customers seeking to understand the environmental impact of the concrete that they purchase. By focusing on a carbon reduction strategy that embraces technology, sustainable resources, and low transportation emissions, Butler Concrete is building for future generations and proudly supports the sustainability ambitions of its customers and their projects.
About Butler Concrete and Aggregate Ltd.
Butler Concrete and Aggregate Ltd. have been the leading producer of sustainable building materials on southern Vancouver Island since the 1930s. As a locally owned and operated organization, we strive to carry on this legacy with our company culture of health, safety, and social responsibility for future generations. With our highly skilled workforce, we build better from the ground up by offering our customers the cleanest and greenest concrete backed by evidence-based Environmental Product Declarations.
About CarbonCure
Architects, structural engineers, owners, and developers are seeking proven ways to reduce the embodied carbon of their building projects. CarbonCure Technologies, a fast-growing carbon dioxide removal tech company, has developed easy-to-adopt solutions that enable concrete producers to use captured carbon to produce reliable, low carbon concrete mixes and achieve market differentiation. With more than 550 systems sold, over two million truckloads of CarbonCure mixes have supplied a broad spectrum of sustainable construction projects around the world. CarbonCure’s cutting-edge research and innovation have garnered global recognition and prestigious titles, most notably grand prize winner of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, 2022 CNBC Disruptor 50 List Company, 2020 North American Cleantech Company of the Year and Cleantech 100 Hall of Fame Company. CarbonCure’s investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon, BDC Capital, Pangaea, Microsoft, 2150, Carbon Direct, GreenSoil Investments, Taronga Group and Mitsubishi Corporation.
