Carbon Neutral Concrete – Challenges and Solutions for Sustainable Future

Abstract

As the climatic impact is becoming a more important topic for most of the nations which signed the COP 26 accords; many concrete and cement companies have announced their carbon reduction ambitions. Although the CO2 reduction pace varies from one country / company to the other, many of them have clearly stated their commitment towards concrete carbon neutrality in 2050. As a result, we can observe the accelerated emergence of a multitude of new technologies targeting the reduction of carbon content in concrete. The presentation proposed will go over the consequences for the concrete industry of this construction industry’s endeavor climatic impact reduction. It will explain some of the main challenges paving the cement and concrete industry’s journey towards carbon neutrality. It will deep dive in the principles and impacts of the most recent and advanced regulations in terms of low carbon construction such as, for example, RE2020 in France. It will also illustrate some of the realistic solutions currently implemented to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete and cement and adapt to this new market environment, including the use of the latest loT technology which allows the concrete producer to improve their material management, operational efficiency as well as the commercial leverage. In a world where raw materials scarcity becomes increasingly stringent, it will also explore the solutions for the concrete industry to promote circular economy. Finally, it will describe the most probable paths towards carbon neutral concrete and how they will inevitably include environmental footprint reduction beyond climatic impact.

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