TARMAC has launched a new brand with a simplified system for rating the carbon footprint of their concrete products, making it easier for customers to choose lower-carbon options.

Under their new umbrella brand, CEVO, TARMAC aligns their concrete range with industry-standard ratings from the Institution of Civil Engineers' (ICE) Green Construction Board, a UK-first initiative.

CEVO, short for 'concrete evolution', introduces a system where all of Tarmac's concrete mixes are categorised by strength into bands to meet customer needs.

Similar to energy ratings for household appliances, the carbon performance of each mix is visually depicted with an easily understandable color-coded benchmark, ranging from A++ to G.

Additionally, the company has launched a new carbon calculator, granting customers instant access to concrete carbon footprint data.

This tool utilizes Tarmac's data, benchmarked against the Green Construction Board standard, and calculated following PAS 2050 methodology. It simplifies product comparison and facilitates the identification of lower-carbon alternatives from the diverse range of concretes available in the market.

Andrew Campling, head of ready-mixed concrete performance at Tarmac, said: “As a business, we’ve been developing industry-leading low-carbon concrete technology over many years and have a comprehensive range of tried-and-tested solutions that perform just as well as traditional concrete in terms of strength, versatility, and durability.”

“With the introduction of our new CEVO range – which is the first in the UK concrete industry to align with the Green Construction Board’s rating system – together with the new carbon calculator, we’ve listened to our customers and made the process of accessing transparent data and procuring lower-carbon concrete as simple as possible. Through the benchmarking, the options to deliver carbon savings are even easier to understand and measure – it really is designed to be specification made simple.”

Tarmac's introduction of the new carbon calculator and CEVO aligns with a significant recent revision to the BS8500 British concrete standard.

This update aims to reduce carbon emissions from cement by permitting the use of up to 20% limestone filler, alongside other conventional substitutes like fly ash and slag, in concrete mixtures.

Decreasing carbon emissions from its products is a pivotal component of Tarmac's net-zero strategy.

This strategy is in harmony with the commitment of its parent company, CRH, to decrease absolute CO2 emissions throughout the business by 30% by 2030 (from a 2021 baseline) and attain net zero by 2050.

Tarmac has outlined its roadmap to achieve net zero, including plans to meet these targets, which is accessible here.