Storing carbon in construction materials

Storing carbon in construction materials

Investigating opportunities for agricultural waste in construction materials

Context

Construction is responsible for 37% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions (UN data). Plants store carbon – could they be used to reduce or even reverse emissions from building materials? Our client, a materials science expert, asked us to investigate opportunities for using agricultural waste in construction materials.

Approach

We surveyed the built environment to understand construction materials, their purpose, and functional requirements. We investigated how local agricultural wastes could be processed to meet these requirements. To do this, we integrated information from a wide range of sources – government bodies, life cycle analyses, historical building techniques, and modern start-ups – into a coherent picture for our client.

Impact

We recommended the most feasible opportunities and discussed them with the wider company in an extensive Q&A session. Our work has informed the client’s long-term sustainability strategy. The client has funded two future research projects derived from this work.

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