Under the Climate Action Plan, all public bodies are required to specify low carbon construction methods and low carbon cement material as far as practicable for directly procured or supported construction projects.

The Irish national policy position out to 2050 is to develop a net-zero carbon society. Within the Climate Action Plan 2021, the State outlined five strands which were considered as an appropriate approach to enabling cement and construction sector evolution, including specifying longer-life and lower-carbon cement blends in public contracts. According to the Irish Green Building Council, concrete accounts for between 30-50% of materials-related emissions in construction in Ireland.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) has procured a report to inform and make recommendations to DETE and the Cement and Construction Sector Decarbonisation Working Group on the practical steps required to pursue an objective from Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2023 – “Decrease embodied carbon in construction materials produced and used in Ireland by at least 30%”.

Another CAP objective in this space is the publication of a detailed roadmap outlining the steps necessary for long-term decarbonisation of the commercial sector, the development of which is currently in progress.

DETE has issued guidance for public sector bodies in respect of reducing embodied carbon in construction whether directly procured or indirectly supported - Procurement guidance for public bodies: Reducing embodied carbon in construction.

The report that has informed this work can be found at - Reducing embodied carbon in cement and concrete through Public Procurement in Ireland