Cement and concrete are responsible for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and concrete is the second most-used material in the world after water. China alone produces about half of the world’s cement, and cement accounts for around 13% of China’s total emissions. Reducing emissions from cement is therefore critical for both China’s carbon neutrality goals and global industrial decarbonization.

Cement and concrete are also major sources of embodied carbon in buildings, infrastructure, and urban development. As more companies strengthen Scope 3 emissions management, demand for low-carbon building materials is increasing. Green procurement of low-carbon cement and concrete could become an important driver of decarbonization across the construction value chain.

However, the market still faces practical barriers. Cement is expensive to transport over long distances, intermediaries are often unwilling to pay a premium for low-carbon products, and low-carbon cement may not be physically available in all local markets.

In this context, book-and-claim could be a useful mechanism because it allows the environmental benefits of low-carbon cement production to be separated from the physical product itself. This means producers could sell low-carbon attributes to buyers in other regions, even if the cement is not physically transported there. For producers, this creates a new revenue stream for low-carbon production. For buyers, it provides a way to meet Scope 3 reduction targets, overcome supply chain limitations, and aggregate demand across different projects or regions. This could help nurture a larger market for green cement and concrete.