First Movers Coalition Cement & Concrete Procurement Guide

The First Movers Coalition (FMC) Cement & Concrete Procurement Guide establishes thresholds for low-emissions cement and concrete and provides a framework for procurement. It defines low-emissions cement as having embodied carbon below 184kg CO2e/tonne and sets specific embodied carbon limits for concrete based on compressive strength. The guide advocates for 'cradle-to-gate' systems boundaries (modules A1, A2, and A3) and recommends using Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) based on ISO 21930 or EN-15804+A2 standards. It addresses complex accounting issues, such as the supplemental reporting of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and the exclusion of recarbonation and supply-chain insets from primary emissions claims to avoid double counting and maintain focus on breakthrough technologies.

• FMC members commit to ensuring at least 10% by volume of their annual cement or concrete procurement meets specific low-emissions criteria: cement must have embodied carbon below 184kg CO2e/tonne, and concrete must fall below embodied carbon limits tied to its specified compressive strength.
• Embodied carbon calculations must use a "cradle-to-gate" systems boundary, encompassing raw material supply (A1), transport (A2), and manufacturing (A3).
• The guide recommends using Global Warming Potential (GWP) values from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) created under ISO 21930:2017 (common in North America) or EN-15804:2012+A2:2019 (common in the EU, Brazil, and India).
• Because current PCR standards do not account for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), suppliers should report CCS abatement supplementally per ISO 14067 and subtract this value from the EPD's GWP to meet FMC thresholds.
• FMC guidelines for fuel and waste combustion specify that biogenic fuels can be treated as carbon-neutral if sustainably sourced, while emissions from non-biogenic waste fuels must be included in the product's gross emissions value.
• The guide discourages claiming emissions sinks from CO2 mineralization during curing or using supply-chain 'insets' to meet thresholds, as these may lead to double counting or shift focus away from breakthrough cement decarbonization technologies.
• Recarbonation (the absorption of CO2 by concrete over time) is excluded from emissions calculations due to the 'cradle-to-gate' boundary, except for pre-cast products like cinderblocks where it occurs within that boundary per EN 15804.

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). First Movers Coalition Cement & Concrete Procurement Guide. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_First_Movers_Coalition_Cement_Concrete_Procurement_Guide_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. First Movers Coalition Cement & Concrete Procurement Guide. 2025. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_First_Movers_Coalition_Cement_Concrete_Procurement_Guide_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=First Movers Coalition Cement & Concrete Procurement Guide |date=January 2025 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_First_Movers_Coalition_Cement_Concrete_Procurement_Guide_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025first, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{First Movers Coalition Cement \& Concrete Procurement Guide}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_First_Movers_Coalition_Cement_Concrete_Procurement_Guide_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }