Laing O’Rourke has declared that all of its new projects that begin main construction in the UK on or after 1st April 2023 will use only low carbon concrete, with less OPC.
[An earler version of this story said that the company would use no OPC. In fact it will continue to use ordinary Portland cement but only when mixed with other ingredients.]
The effect will be a 28% reduction on overall carbon when compared with the company’s concrete usage in 2022, it said – a saving of 14.4 million kgCO2e.
Standard alternatives (or partial replacements) to ordinary Portland cement include industrial waste products such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) and pulverised fly ash (PFA), both of which are favoured by Laing O’Rourke. Last year 43% of the group's total concrete production used these ingredients. From now on, it will be 100%, the company says.
Cathal O’Rourke, Laing O’Rourke’s newly appointed chief operating officer, said: “We’ve committed to being a net zero company before 2050 and we are looking at every possible measure to accelerate our progress. In construction, the greatest challenge is reducing scope 3 emissions – the embodied carbon in purchased materials.
“Reducing all carbon emissions is a priority for our business. The built environment makes a significant contribution to global warming and constructors must work with clients and design partners to deploy new technologies and innovations that make modern methods the norm and enable us to build in less carbon intensive ways.”
Head of sustainability Rossella Nicolin said: “The expertise of our in-house concrete technologists, the experts who operate our advanced manufacturing facility in Nottinghamshire (the Laing O’Rourke Centre of Excellence for Modern Construction, CEMC), and our supply chain partners, have all contributed to this significant step forward.
“Last year, 43% of the concrete products we manufactured for our live projects were low carbon. It’s exciting to think this will rise to 100% this year, and that very soon all our new projects will only use low carbon concrete.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
