Many of us already know the construction industry consumes a large portion of the world’s carbon footprint. In fact, something to the tune of almost 40% of human-caused emissions of GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) is attributed to the construction industry. That’s nothing to take lightly. And the good news is there is innovation coming out of university research and new news from last week’s World of Concrete that points to more positive progress on the horizon.
First, let’s turn our attention to technology to decarbonize buildings that is being researched at the University of Birmingham. A new energy storage system created by researchers at the University of Birmingham could help reduce carbon emissions from commercial buildings by storing excess renewable energy that might otherwise be wasted and supplying heating or cooling on demand.
Developed by Professor Yongliang Li, Chair in Thermal Energy Engineering at the School of Chemical Engineering, the compact technology is designed for buildings where traditional solutions like heat pumps are impractical.
The system incorporates advanced thermochemical materials that offer significantly higher energy density than conventional technologies. Early analysis indicates commercial users could benefit from lower capital and operating costs compared with existing systems.
Of course, this is only one example of innovation helping to revitalize the construction industry, as it looks to decarbonize the built environment. Emerging technologies are revealing countless opportunities to accelerate greater sustainability. Case in point: concrete. The concrete industry is responsible for roughly 8% of global CO2 emissions—and it is the second most consumed substance on Earth right after water.
With this in mind, let’s turn our attention to the World of Concrete that dominated Las Vegas last week. If you walked the show hall, then you recognized that sustainability was front and center—highlighted by equipment makers, technology innovators, and just about every company in between.
Consider the example of Giatec, which offers SmartMix, an AI (artificial intelligence)-powered concrete quality control software. At World of Concrete last week, the company announced Roxi, which analyzes real-world concrete data to eliminate human error. By predicting concrete properties and optimizing mix proportions, the technology can help reduce cement usage, costs, and emissions.
Of course, this is only one example from the event last week, but both of these cases point to a very important trend and consideration in the construction industry: If we’re serious about shrinking our carbon footprint, the construction industry especially needs to act.
In my book, Sustainable in a Circular World, I sound the alarm—grounded in sound principles—on the urgency to shift our thinking. The construction industry must step forward decisively if we are to make any progress in the days ahead.
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