Laing O’Rourke signs up as founding member of ConcreteZero
05.07.22Today (5 July) Laing O’Rourke has signed up as one of the 17 founding members of the new ConcreteZero campaign, launched by international non-profit Climate Group, in partnership with World Green Building Council and World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Further strengthening their commitment to delivering ambitious global sustainability targets Laing O’Rourke has joined the pledge with a goal of 100% net zero concrete by 2050.
17 pioneering businesses made the public commitment which includes an ambition to use 30% low emission concrete by 2025 and 50% by 2030.
Concrete production contributes 8% of global annual carbon emissions. With new developments the size of Paris due to be built globally every week over the next 40 years, the demand for concrete is set to continue growing. The concrete industry transitioning to net zero is vital to halving carbon emissions by 2030 and keeping within reach the goal to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C.
The founding ConcreteZero members are some of the leading companies in the sector and by agreeing to join they are signalling to the industry the scale of demand for sustainably produced and sourced concrete. To accelerate change, they will measure and report on the carbon emissions associated with the concrete they use. This data will enable the industry to define what low emission and net zero concrete is, bringing clarity and enabling collective action by the entire supply chain.
We are proud to be one of the founding signatories to the Climate Group’s ConcreteZero commitment and to help lead the industry transition to net zero.
Our industry needs to move with greater urgency, and by working together we can more effectively drive global demand for low carbon concrete.
At Laing O’Rourke, we are capturing and using more and more data to advance our knowledge and develop innovative, lower carbon solutions for our clients. Our team has harnessed the power of digital technologies to measure embodied carbon with our model-based calculator and we are actively working to develop new solutions to speed up decarbonisation.
We look forward to working with our clients, partners and supply chain delivering sustainable solutions to push this agenda forward.
By launching ConcreteZero we’re doubling down on our efforts to get the highest emitting industries to net zero. Steel and concrete production together emit the same level of CO2 as all road transport globally, and with demand for both going up, this is only set to increase. Targeting the concrete industry was therefore a no brainer. Adding ConcreteZero to our industry program enables us to continue to support the construction and property sector along its path to net zero.
Concrete, a mix of cement, gravel or sand and water, is a final consumer product. The chemical process used to make traditional limestone cement is very energy intensive, emitting significant levels of CO2. Inclusion of cement in the concrete mix drastically increases the level of carbon emissions associated with the end product. By focusing on concrete, Climate Group can maximise all the opportunities in the production of concrete, to cut carbon emissions.
Founding members include: Buro Happold, Byrne Bros, Canary Wharf Group, The Carey Group, Clancy Group, Grimshaw Architects, Grosvenor, Joseph Homes, Laing O’Rourke, Mace, Morrisroe, Multiplex Construction Europe, Ramboll, Skanska UK, Thornton Tomasetti, Wilmott Dixon, WSP