About this event
Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) for Low-Carbon Materials
The construction sector is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, with cement, concrete, and steel alone accounting for a significant share of industrial carbon output. To meet ambitious climate goals while still meeting the world’s demand for infrastructure and buildings, we must find scalable solutions to decarbonize these hard-to-abate materials. One emerging tool is the environmental attribute certificate (EAC) — a market-based instrument that can provide transparency, verify emissions reductions, and accelerate adoption of low-carbon materials.
In this session, Microsoft, Stegra, and Carbon Direct will discuss how EACs can be used to scale the development of low-carbon cement/concrete and steel. You’ll learn what defines a high-quality EAC, how these instruments support procurement and supply chain decarbonization, and why companies like Microsoft are incorporating them into their climate strategies. Also hear from Stegra about their approach as a producer and their partnership with Microsoft to create the FOAK EAC agreement in steel.
Key takeaways
- A clear understanding of what EACs are and why they matter for low-carbon materials
- Insight into the quality criteria that define integrity and ensure EACs deliver real climate impact
- Lessons from Microsoft’s buyer perspective on using EACs to meet sustainability targets
- Lessons from Stegra using EACs as an alternative delivery method for green steel
- Guidance on how EACs can support procurement, supplier collaboration, and market development for decarbonized cement, concrete, and steel
Hosted by
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Guest speaker
Julia Fidler Director, Market Development - Energy, Connectivity & Sustainability @ MicrosoftG
Julia supports global decarbonization strategies across fuels and materials at Microsoft. She contributes to the company’s ambitious sustainability goals – from advancing the use of sustainable aviation and marine fuels to driving supply chain decarbonization. Julia has more than 15 years of global leadership at Microsoft, most recently serving as Microsoft’s Global Lead for Fuel and Material Decarbonization, where she overseas Microsoft’s ambitious efforts to reduce Scope 3 emissions across some of the world’s most complex and carbon-intensive supply chains, including fuels, steel, and cement, as part of Microsoft’s broader 2030 commitment to be carbon negative, water positive and zero waste – one of the most ambitious corporate sustainability agendas globally.
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Guest speaker
David Lluis Madrid Climate Science and Markets Manager @ Carbon DirectG
David works with clients to advise them on carbon reduction and removal strategies that best meet their needs. David helps clients understand more about the most impactful and cost-effective carbon reduction and removal actions they could take. Prior to joining Carbon Direct, David was the lead research analyst on carbon capture, utilization and storage at BloombergNEF, where he wrote the company’s CCS market outlooks and specific research pieces on direct air capture, CO2-to-fuels and CO2 capture cost drivers.
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Guest speaker
John Dees, Ph.D. Director, Fuels and Industrial Commodities @ Carbon DirectG
Dr. John Dees leads Carbon Direct’s scientific advisory practice in the transportation fuel and industrial commodity sectors. He brings interdisciplinary expertise in the bioeconomy and bioenergy systems, connecting industrial ecology, economics, and climate policy. His research focuses on biomass in decarbonization—both as feedstock for energy and materials and as a substrate for carbon removal (BiCRS)—combining technoeconomic and life cycle analysis with policy and market perspectives. His work has appeared in Environmental Science & Technology, Green Chemistry, and ES&T Water. During his PhD, he collaborated with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and led the US DRIVE Net-Zero Carbon Fuels Technical Analysis. At Carbon Direct, Dr. Dees coordinates expert teams on emissions reduction strategies and has co-authored public reports such as the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Primer and Criteria for High-Quality Environmental Attribute Certificates.
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Guest speaker
Katherine Vaz Gomes, PhD Decarbonization Engineer @ Carbon DirectG
Dr. Katherine V. Gomes is a decarbonization engineer specializing in carbon management, mineralization, and critical mineral extraction. With expertise in techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment, she helps clients deploy scalable carbon removal solutions that are technically sound, economically viable, and aligned with policy. Katherine advises on cutting emissions in cement, concrete, and mining by integrating carbon mineralization, repurposing waste, and applying circular economy strategies. She conducts due diligence on emerging technologies such as mineralization for concrete curing and carbon-storing cementitious materials, ensuring rigor and scalability. She earned her PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on process engineering, techno-economics, and regulation of mining waste for CO₂ storage and mineral recovery.
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Guest speaker
Johan Mandaric Reunanen Climate Impact Lead @ StegraG
Johan is heading the EAC work at Stegra and has been leading the development work on the first-of-a-kind EAC for green steel agreement between Stegra and Microsoft. Before joining Stegra in 2022 Johan spent 15+ years as a management consultant partner, where the last 10 years focused on business development within biofuel, SAF and P2X developing and implementing Book & claim solutions and commercial EAC agreements in northern Europe. About Stegra: Founded in 2020, Stegra was created with the purpose to decarbonize hard-to-abate industry. We're leading a clean industrial revolution, starting with steel. Our first plant is under construction in Boden in northern Sweden. We’re on track to produce green steel by 2026, using green hydrogen and green iron to cut emissions by up to 95%.
Carbon Direct
Go from climate goal to climate action.Carbon Direct is a science-first carbon management firm that helps organizations reduce their carbon footprint with their end-to-end platform.
