Concrete: A sustainable building material

It might sound odd to be considering concrete as an environmentally friendly product, but it does have a strong case to make.

Everything depends on how you define “environmentally friendly” of course.  One way of doing so is to look at the energy it takes to manufacture the product.  This is known as embodied energy.

Redland commissioned engineering consultants Arup to work out how much energy is taken to manufacture concrete tiles, and how much carbon dioxide is released during the process.

The report concluded that the embodied  energy of concrete tiles is just half that of equivalent clay tiles. 

The main reason for this is the firing process: clay tiles must be fired at very high temperatures (around 1,000oC) an energy intensive process.

In contrast, just adding water and curing at less than 100oC achieves the necessary strength for concrete tiles.

So if you are looking for eco friendly building products don’t dismiss concrete – it definitely has its place.