Due to its versatility, durability, and affordability, concrete has become the world’s most popular building material. Since it is used on such an immense scale, it generates roughly 8% of global CO2 emissions. These emissions derived from production are referred to as embodied carbon.
However, the world will continue to need concrete to address 21st-century challenges like climate change, housing crises, and sustainable development. This means that industry, government, and academia must collaborate to reduce its environmental impact. The CSHub is evaluating the potential impacts of a variety of pathways to lower the embodied carbon of cement and concrete, including the possibility of achieving carbon-neutral—or even carbon-negative—concrete.
The Basics of Cement and Concrete
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MIT Climate: Concrete (January 2021)
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MIT News: Predicting building emissions across the US (September 2021)
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Fortune: The Last Mile of Carbonization (February 2021)
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MIT News: Unraveling Carbon Uptake in Concrete Pavements (January 2021)
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Solutions for Carbon-neutral Concrete in U.S. Pavements (August 2021)
Challenges and Opportunities of Using EPDs in Environmental Performance Comparisons of Concrete (February 2021)
Lowering the Embodied Environmental Impacts of Cement and Concrete (February 2020)
The Role of Concrete in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions (August 2020)
Related Peer-reviewed Publications
- Vahidi, E., Kirchain, R., Burek, J., Gregory, R. "Regional variation of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies for the United States building sector." Applied Energy. Volume 302, 15 November 2021, 117527.
- Gregory, J., AzariJafari, H., Vahidi, E., Guo, F., Ulm, F.J., Kirchain, R. "The role of concrete in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of US buildings and pavements."PNAS. September 14, 2021 118 (37).
- AzariJafari, H., Guo, F., Gregory, J., Kirchain, R. "Carbon uptake of concrete in the US pavement network,
Resources, Conservation and Recycling." Volume 167, 2021,105397.