'Concrete revolution' takes aim at construction’s worst polluter

Sep 20

By Darius Snieckus

From building blocks that capture and store CO2 emissions to rubble recycling and low-carbon concrete mixes, Canada’s construction sector is changing how it thinks about its go-to material. Some believe it could be the start of a “concrete revolution”.

Solving the carbon conundrum presented by a material responsible for up to 8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions is critical for an industry under pressure to reduce its emissions to help Canada meet its 2050 net-zero commitments.

Companies ranging from startups to multinationals are investing an increasing amount of time and money in new processes and technologies to decarbonize a concrete and cement sector worth $76 billion to the economy.

"The first emissions in the construction building cycle are in the manufacture of the materials being used. People tend to forget that,” said Mark Hutchinson, vice president for innovation at Canada’s Green Building Council, an industry advocacy body.

"We need to think innovatively about concrete — and steel, glass and other materials — and how we can reduce the embodied carbon in these.”

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