A leading Irish cement manufacturer has been lauded for it carbon neutral properties.

The CO2 footprint of Ecocem's GGBS cement has in five years gone from 60 kg/tonne to 30 kg/tonne to 25 kg/tonne and is now 0 kg/tonne. This is compared to a carbon footprint of ordinary cement of approximately 900 kg/tonne.

"Ecocem GGBS has no net impact on the environment. No harmful pollutants are released and the very low CO2 footprint is offset with high quality carbon credits," said a spokesman.

Ecocem, has been selling low carbon cement into the Irish market since late 2003.

By driving efficiencies and making changes to the plant and through sourcing more green energy Ecocem has reduced its footprint to approximately 25-30 kg/tonne. This means that Ecocem is now over 30 times greener than ordinary cement, according to the firm.

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However, Ecocem said it wanted to do more.

Ecocem teamed up with Emission Zero to offset it's carbon footprint to allow it go carbon neutral now. Offsetting is a system where companies that produce CO2 reductions can sell these to companies with a carbon footprint to neutralise it.

From May 2009 all cement supplied by Ecocem will be carbon neutral. By using Ecocem's carbon neutral cement in your concrete you will create significant CO2 savings and reduce your impact on the environment.

Cement accounts for 90% of the footprint of concrete. So by replacing this polluting material with a zero CO2 material you can achieve massive environmental benefits.

"Carbon neutral cement is a giant step towards truly sustainable construction. Because concrete is the most widely consumed resource in the world after water, using carbon neutral cement means the benefits on a worldwide basis will be significant - many multiples of Ireland's entire carbon footprint," said the company.

(PR/JM)