SDG success is within our reach
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Approximately 90% of the CO2 in a cubic metre of typical 35 MPa CEM I concrete comes from Portland cement. While we are investing heavily in fuel switching and carbon capture in order to realise net zero cement in the future, right now we are using our technical expertise to reduce overall cement contents and increase cement replacement levels with lower CO2 materials such as ground granulated blastfurnace slag. These advances are reflected in our recently launched EcoCrete concrete range of low carbon concretes, which can reduce embodied CO2 by up to 85%.
We see two key challenges in particular for our customers:
In April 2023, we hosted our ‘Let’s Talk Sustainability’ webinar with a focus on low carbon concrete and we also presented a paper on low carbon concrete at the Institute of Concrete Technology. We see the adoption of low carbon concrete making its way through the supply chain and we are proactively tackling the need for more information and understanding around the topics to continue to help this change.
Firstly, with our EcoCrete range, we are making the CO2 values for a cubic metre of concrete visible at quotation stage and can do so, quickly, at the click of a button. Secondly, we can use SmartRock wireless maturity sensors to provide real-time temperature and strength data in-situ, which we see as the key enabler of EcoCrete low carbon concrete adoption.
Opinion Piece SDG success is within our reach Piece by Cressida Curtis, Group Sustainability Director, Wates Group Arriving on the coat tails of the Millennium
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