Low carbon design can reduce cement emissions by 40% - here’s how to deploy it at scale

Cement emissions from construction projects can fall by up to 40% by 2030 with low-carbon materials and design techniques. On March 22, 2023 systemic challenges across the construction value chain prevent low carbon design and materials from being deployed at scale. A new report provides a framework that design and construction firms, materials producers, project owners, investors and governments can use to scale low carbon design and construction. A new report, Scaling low carbon design and construction with concrete: Enabling the path to net-zero for buildings and infrastructure, published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group with industry input from the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) – states that there is a massive opportunity to reduce carbon emissions from concrete in the near-term through scaled deployment in low carbon design techniques and the use of low-carbon concrete products. The report explains that emissions from concrete in construction projects can be reduced by up to 40% by 2030 through three key levers: Manufacturing process decarbonization, Specifying lower-carbon cement blends, and Optimizing the volume of material used.