Sustainability - Sustainable production

Built environment

Cement is vital to the UK’s built environment. It is an essential ingredient in concrete, without which no school, house, hospital, road or bridge would be built. Cement-based materials are also used for the remediation of contaminated land, meaning brownfield sites can be safely developed without necessarily having to send contaminated soil to landfill.

The cement and concrete industries are working to achieve a better-built environment through sustainable construction. Ninety per cent of the environmental impact of carbon dioxide associated with buildings arises during their operational lifetime from heating, cooling and lighting. Concrete buildings are more adaptable to future climates as they have the ability to absorb and release heat, which means that less energy is needed for heating or cooling, thus saving energy over their lifetime.

Effectively, the thermal mass of a building can be utilized to reduce operational CO2 emissions.