Laing O’Rourke is switching to low carbon concrete on all of its new UK projects. The change will apply to all new projects and will result in a significant reduction in the company’s scope 3 carbon emissions.

Following a long-term research programme co-funded by Laing O’Rourke and Innovate UK, and in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Sheffield University’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), the business has proven that a range of low carbon concrete options can be successfully deployed on projects as a like-for-like substitute for traditional concrete.

Laing O’Rourke’s low carbon concrete uses lower carbon alternatives to Portland cement. These include GGBS (Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag) and PFA (Pulverised Fly Ash), both of which are industrial by-products with a much lower carbon footprint.

The overall carbon reduction will be 28 per cent when compared with the company’s concrete usage in 2022. This equates to a saving of 14.4 million kgCO2e.

Cathal O’Rourke, Laing O’Rourke’s COO, said: “We’ve committed to being a net-zero company before 2050 and we are looking at every possible measure to accelerate our progress. In construction, the greatest challenge is reducing scope 3 emissions – the embodied carbon in purchased materials.”

The company became a founding member of ConcreteZero in 2022 and is already decarbonising beyond the programme’s near-term objectives.

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