Dive Brief:
- Meta has signed a multi-year deal with low-carbon cement manufacturer Fortera that will give the tech and social media conglomerate access to lower-carbon cement for constructing its projects, as well as environmental attribute credits associated with its production.
- Under the agreement, Meta will get access to the environmental attribute credits associated with the production of 200,000 tons, according to a Thursday press release.
- Fortera co-founder and CEO Ryan Gilliam called the deal “an important first step in Fortera and Meta’s relationship” in the release. Last year, the low-carbon cement startup secured an investment from Microsoft that will help fund a full-scale production facility in exchange for a board observer seat, EACs and cement for its data centers.
Dive Insight:
Meta’s investment will help fund a Fortera cement plant in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, along the Mississippi River, according to the release. Fortera uses captured carbon dioxide in its cements, which leads to a product with 70% less emissions than traditional cement, according to the release.
Meta said that the agreement will connect “its demand for low carbon cement with the development of domestic supply in markets where it is building.” Meta Head of Net Zero Strategy Devon Lake said the tech giant signed a multi-year deal because that “is what gets a cement plant financed.”
“Our agreement helps Fortera move the Ste. Genevieve plant from plan to production, which means construction jobs and long-term manufacturing jobs in Missouri, and low-carbon cement available to builders well beyond Meta," Lake said in the release.
Meta, which owns social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said in its 2025 sustainability report that its data center emissions increased 22% in 2024, despite a 3.5% decrease in its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. The company has yet to release a report documenting its 2025 emissions.
“Agreements of this scale and duration are what unlock financing and move projects from plans to production,” Fortera’s CEO said. “They also show the market that low-carbon cement is a product that buyers are serious about and planning around for years to come.”
The deal will also give Meta the option to extend or expand the deal by volume or duration, the release said.
In looking to curb emissions, Meta inked a deal last year to receive the environmental attribute credits for low-carbon iron produced at a demonstration facility from startup Electra. JPMorgan Chase invested $30 million in Electra earlier this year, which will help fund its expansion to commercial scale.
