Carbon Benchmarking​

Benchmarking is crucial as it helps stakeholders identify best practices, guide performance specification, and drive continuous improvement. The systematic approach fosters innovation and ensures alignment with market expectations, ultimately leading to better performance and realistic decarbonisation targets.

The Low Carbon Concrete Group* Market Benchmark summarises the distribution of Cradle-to- Gate carbon emissions of normal weight concrete recently produced in the UK. The Benchmark covers LCA stages A1 to A3 (“cradle to batching plant gate”, or “cradle to precasting mould”). The Benchmark is prepared by the Low Carbon Concrete Group and is updated periodically to reflect developments in the UK market.

The Embodied carbon of concrete – Market Benchmark provides a mechanism for rating the embodied carbon of concrete within the range of concretes in use across the market based on strength. Noting that kgCO2/m3 connected to strength is not applicable for all concrete, nor for one concrete application at all times in all regions. However, the Market Benchmark is a tool to understand the embodied carbon of concrete available in the market and define lower carbon concrete. The tool must be used in the context of reducing overall project and global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Sometimes concrete with higher embodied carbon used more efficiently may result in lower project and / or global GHG emissions.

Full details on the LCCG Benchmark can be found [Here]

 

*Brought together by the Green Construction Board, the Lower Carbon Concrete Group (LCCG) has been working together since January 2020. The LCCG is formed of professionals from the concrete and cement industry, academia, engineers and clients.