Sustainability Credentials

Ready-mixed concrete from BRMCA members of QPA is made 'offsite' at one of approximately 1300 plants nationwide. The average delivery distance is less than 15 miles - saving on transport fuel. At the site, the ‘plastic’ product is poured into purpose-made moulds (formwork), and with good site supervision this results in minimal waste. The use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) such as tunnel form, insulating concrete formwork and post-tensioned frame elements results in fast and economical construction.

With good site supervision, there is potentially zero waste on site. Building using MMC such as tunnel form, insulated concrete formwork and post-tensioned elements is extremely fast and economical.

All reinforcement bars used in the UK are already manufactured from recycled scrap and the cementitious content of concrete is reduced by using supplementary cementitious materials. These are by-products from other industries such as PFA from coal-fired power stations and ground granulated blast-furnace slag from the steel industry; both these would historically have gone to land-fill.

At the end of a building’s life, the in-situ concrete and reinforcement can be totally recycled and re-used in construction. If this aggregate is not strong enough for re-use in a concrete mix, it can be used as sub-base fill, reducing the amount of primary aggregate required on-site.

The durability of concrete is proven by the continued existence today of buildings up to two thousand years old. Today, Life Cycle Analysis (LCAs) of construction products are compared over just 60 years. This is a short timescale for this long lasting product and the sector's view is that a minimum 125 years should be used for concrete. This has the effect of doubling ready-mixed concrete’s life cycle performance. Another sustainable quality inherent in concrete is its thermal mass. When used in buildings concrete has the potential to reduce the need for air conditioning and so save energy as the UK accelerates towards Mediterranean summer temperatures by 2030.