Stakeholders across the concrete construction industry are under pressure to improve sustainability. The good news is that your ready-mix producer can adopt sustainability measures that will also help you accelerate job completion and save money.
Reducing your environmental footprint
Today's building owners are seeking sustainable structures, yet when it comes to concrete, this needs to be done carefully to ensure the mix retains its strength and longevity. GCP admixtures deliver the best of both worlds — advanced chemistries and technologies that drastically lower the carbon footprint of concrete, while consistently delivering high strength and increased durability. This empowers ready-mix producers to develop mix designs that meet performance requirements while minimizing the environmental impact.
50%
potential to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of concrete*
13M tons
approx. reduction of CO2 emissions by GCP Concrete Admixtures in 2020*
Blueprint for a Cleaner Future
Using GCP admixtures and technologies, ready-mix producers can support your sustainability goals by:
- Lowering the cement in the mix, thereby reducing CO2 emissions.
- Enhancing concrete durability to extend the service life of your structure.
- Automating slump management in transit to further reduce cement and water in the mix.
Discover concrete admixtures, fibers, and technologies to support your sustainability efforts.
*Reflects GCP internal estimates
Learn how GCP can make your business more sustainable.
Concrete Product Solutions
Strength, Sustainability, and Savings.
Cost-saving Sustainability Measures.
Leveraging our specialty additives in their mix, producers have a wide range of options for delivering highly workable, high-strength concrete and a lower embodied carbon footprint. Using more workable concrete saves labor costs and results in faster project completion.
Case Study: Arizona State University
This is one approach used at Arizona State University to reduce the carbon footprint of its Interdisciplinary Science and Technology facility. The concrete team set out to use a post-consumer byproduct to reduce the total amount of cement in the building structure by at least 40%. “It takes a lot of equipment and resources to produce cement,” said McCarthy Building Companies Senior Project Manager Carlos Diaz. “If you can replace a high percentage of cement with a recycled material like fly ash, you can offset a significant amount of carbon.”
For this mix, concrete producer Hanson Aggregates, LLC, used fly ash (a byproduct from electric and steam generating plants), along with ADVA® and WDRA® concrete admixtures from GCP Applied Technologies to achieve their sustainability goals. “The ADVA® admixture gave us the opportunity to keep the water/cement ratio low while achieving high strength as well as the workability to place the concrete very easily,” said Bill Wheeler, Quality Control for Hanson Aggregates LLC. Click here for more information.
Fast Facts
- GCP solutions have the potential to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of concrete by up to 50% allowing to replace clinker and cement with eco-friendly, locally-sourced alternative cementitious materials.
- In 2020, ADVA®, DARASET®, CONCERA® and other GCP concrete admixtures reduced CO2 emissions by approximately 13 million tons, which is equivalent to taking four million cars off the road every day.
