Green growth avenues in the cement ecosystem

• Published in: McKinsey Insights
• Main Authors: Hundertmark, Thomas, Reiter, Sebastian, Schulze, Patrick
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York McKinsey & Company, Inc 16.12.2021
• Subjects: 3-D printers; Building construction; Carbon sequestration; Cement industry; Collaboration; Concrete; Design; Ecosystems; Emissions; Industrial plant emissions; Infrastructure; Recycling; Sustainability; Timber; Value chain; United States > US; China

Decarbonizing the built environment could also eventually lead to lower overall levels of concrete consumption. [...]from the perspective of a cement and concrete producer, what began as a sustainability issue could soon become a growth challenge. [...]producers of alternative building materials are grappling with regulations and technical constraints, and technology providers still require large amounts of funding. Reduce includes four ways to minimize emissions of materials beyond cement: using additives, clinker substitutes, and alternative binders; changing concrete recipes; optimizing production processes, including carbon-cured concrete; and recycling building materials. Reduce The second theme is reducing emissions per unit of building material by using additives to make concrete stronger and to lower the cement concentration in concrete; substituting clinker with fly ash or alternative binders; optimizing production processes using alternative fuels or curing concrete with carbon; and recycling building materials to avoid emitting the carbon required to produce new material.