Carbon Jargon for Concrete Producers

Are you trying to get a better handle on what concrete terms are relevant to your business - and what they mean? We've provided the below guide to help you understand the voluntary carbon market, and how you can put it to work for you.

Carbon
A chemical element. Solid at room temperature, carbon atoms are extremely abundant and stored in soils, plants and fossil fuels. It is often incorrectly and confusingly used as shorthand for carbon dioxide.

Carbon Dioxide
Gaseous molecule made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. It is mainly emitted by respiration and combustion, and as the benchmark global warming agent is assigned a potential of 1. It persists in the atmosphere for 300-1,000 years, according to NASA.

Carbon Footprint
The impact of a production process on climate change is calculated and expressed as its carbon footprint.

Carbon Mineralization
Carbon mineralization is the process by which carbon dioxide becomes a solid mineral, such as calcium carbonate. It is a chemical reaction that happens when certain rocks are exposed to carbon dioxide or when carbon dioxide is introduced into fresh concrete during mixing.

Carbon Reduction
Cutting the amount of emissions that would happen under business-as-usual circumstances.

Carbon Removal
Carbon removal is the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it away for decades, centuries or millennia.

Carbon Reversal
Release of carbon stored in trees or soil back into the atmosphere, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Carbon Sequestration
Process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and stored in solid or liquid form.

Carbon Sink
If the carbon sequestered exceeds the amount emitted, the store of carbon is increasing and is known as a carbon sink.

Carbon Neutral
When the amount of carbon being removed from the atmosphere by a process or action is exactly equal to the carbon emitted.

Carbon Intensity
Every product or action has a different carbon “cost”. The amount of carbon emitted per action is its carbon intensity – for example, the amount of carbon dioxide created for every pound of cement produced.

Carbon Credit
Permit that allows the owner to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas. Usually one credit allows emissions of 1t of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Carbon Offsets
Reduction or removal of carbon dioxide emissions, or other greenhouse gases, to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

Carbon Insets
Offsetting emissions through a carbon project within the same supply chain. In contrast, carbon offsetting is when an organisation buys carbon credits to offset its emissions externally.

Net Zero
Target of completely negating the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity. Net zero is achieved by reducing emissions and
implementing methods of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Global Warming Potential (GWP)
Measurement of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, taking into consideration the effect of short-lived gases. It is common to see the GWP of a product or service (such as cement or concrete production).

Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
Gases that trap heat when released into the atmosphere, causing global warming and climate change.

Additionality
Reductions by a genuine carbon offset must be “additional” to what would have been achieved had the project not been carried out.

Permanence
The Green House Gas must be permanently sequestered or reduced. Permanence is defined as providing lasting benefits to the environment for a long period of time.

Co-benefits
Additional environmental, social, health, or economic benefits that accompany a carbon project. These additional benefits often support the United Nations sustainable development goals and can help bolster the value of a carbon credit.

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