Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Accepted
Paragraph: 107
The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy should invest in raising awareness within the...
Recommendation
The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy should invest in raising awareness within the industry and amongst the public on the existence and benefits of low-carbon cement and continue to encourage research and development into new low-carbon products.
Government Response Summary
BEIS is working with the Green Construction Board, the wider membership of the Construction Leadership Council and the ICE to promote the Low Carbon Concrete Routemap to industry, and outlines the recommendations for clients, designers, contractors and suppliers.
Paragraph Reference:
107
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
BEIS is working with the Green Construction Board, the wider membership of the Construction Leadership Council and the ICE to promote the Low Carbon Concrete Routemap to industry. Whilst the Routemap is focused on structural concrete used in the UK, the approaches to reducing carbon emissions linked to concrete that it sets out are applicable to firms across the construction industry, and would also be relevant to other countries. The recommendations for clients, designers, contractors and suppliers include: • An industry-wide rating system to disclose the carbon embedded in different concrete mixtures, similar to the energy efficiency ratings for homes • Options for reducing the cement content, especially by using limestone and calcined clays as fly ash and blast furnace slag become less available • Design approaches that use less concrete or lower-carbon concrete, such as using voids, coffers, non-structural fill and smaller spans between columns • Giving concrete suppliers maximum time and flexibility to choose a mix that meets the requirements with the minimum carbon • Updating technical standards to reflect the priority of reducing carbon and the latest materials and techniques A new UK Concrete Decarbonisation Taskforce, convened by the ICE, will oversee the delivery of the Routemap. This group will update the report each year and monitor progress across the industry.