Amazon, Meta and Prologis support low-carbon concrete

Some of the largest commercial property owners, including Amazon, Meta and Prologis, have joined forces to support low-carbon concrete.

According to the World Economic Forum, concrete production is responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions. Large property owners have formed a partnership, the Sustainable Concrete Buying Alliance (SCoBA) to tackle this issue.

Low-carbon concrete is available, but not in large quantities. Many concrete suppliers are not investing in building large carbon concrete plants or retrofitting existing concrete manufacturing sites. SCoBA members have significant buying power and can pressure suppliers to invest in low-carbon concrete.

Cody Finke, CEO of Brimstone, a company that is reducing carbon emissions in concrete production, says:

“It’s a huge win when some of the biggest companies in the world join together to build a market for sustainable concrete. It gives companies like Brimstone a faster path to market — putting our cement into buildings, data centres and infrastructure sooner.”

Another issue is that even when property developers can source low-carbon cement, it may have to be shipped long distances. For example, Brimstone is based in California, so it may not be practical to transport large quantities of its cement to a New York construction site.

Concrete flooring has many benefits, including durability, low maintenance and strength, but it has an environmental cost. Support from major companies like Amazon and Meta for low-carbon concrete will help make concrete flooring more sustainable.

In the UK, the concrete and cement industry has reduced the embodied carbon in concrete by 30%.