Advances in Boral Low-Carbon Concrete

BORAL ADVANCES THEIR LOW-CARBON CONCRETE

If successful in the trial phases, Boral has announced they hope to supply their decarbonised concrete to be used in Perth’s new Roe Highway Logistics Park development. Boral claims the Envisia® concrete uses ground granulated blast furnace slag to replace up to 50% of the usual Portland cement, maintaining strength and improving durability, resulting in a 40% reduction in carbon content. The Roe Highway Logistics Park will be funded by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which proposes to use solar panels together with the low carbon concrete (LCC) to create the most sustainable industrial property in Perth. The Roe Highway Logistics Park (RHLP) has already received $95 million from the CEFC on behalf of the Australian Government and is expected to be built over the next two years.

1/5 of Australia’s greenhouse emissions come from the construction materials industry, meaning the push for low carbon concrete-related products is in considerable demand. “The construction sector is a significant emitter of greenhouse gases and the lack of low carbon alternatives to traditional building material has so far made it difficult to abate” CEFC, CEO Ian Learmonth said, reinforcing the importance of LCC. With new releases of low-carbon products, progress is being made. “Exciting developments in low carbon construction materials are giving us the chance to accelerate decarbonisation, and success in this sector will help spur Australia’s transition to a low emissions economy.”

Learmonth said, “It’s encouraging to see the development of new low carbon concrete products such as Boral’s Envisia, which could change the construction landscape nationwide as the building industry represents around a quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions”. Continuing “Importantly, the focus on low carbon construction materials at RHLP can play a critical role in influencing supply chains in the construction industry. This offers a new pathway to cut emissions from the supply chain, known as scope three emissions, and provides a worldleading example of low carbon options for the industry,” Learmonth said.