Laying the foundation: How to specify low carbon concrete to build a sustainable future

Concrete is the most commonly used man-made material on earth due to its many architectural benefits, but its use comes with a staggering environmental cost. The production of cement, the key ingredient in concrete, is responsible for 8% of global emissions making it the single biggest industrial cause of carbon pollution. Architects can reduce the sector’s climate impact through the specification of low carbon concrete, which offers the same construction benefits as standard concrete but with significantly fewer embodied emissions.

Laying the Foundation: How to specify low carbon concrete to build a sustainable future explores the carbon footprint of concrete, and how you can specify its low carbon equivalent to help build a sustainable future. We discuss the role of concrete in modern construction, and the factors that contribute to its large carbon footprint. We then take a close look at low carbon concrete – what it is, what it is made of and how it is made. Finally, we consider the key factors in specifying low carbon concrete in today’s market, including the role of environmental product declarations, Climate Active and green building certification.

Leading global building materials supplier, Holcim has introduced ECOPact, a low carbon concrete product range that can reduce the embodied carbon of buildings, infrastructure and homes. ECOPact offers the broadest range of low carbon concrete for high-performing, sustainable and circular construction. ECOPact Zero uses accredited carbon offsets from Climate Active to give architects, designers and specifiers the opportunity to reduce the embodied carbon in the concrete component of their projects by up to 100% as compared to standard concrete.

Download this whitepaper to learn how you can specify low carbon concrete to help build a sustainable future.