Sustainable materials: is there a concrete solution?

The construction industry is responsible for over a tenth of the world’s man-made carbon emissions, with concrete being the biggest culprit. How can we continue to build, without it costing the earth?
Film supported by @Infosys
00:00 - The trouble with rubble
00:55 - Construction is driving climate change
02:54 - The second most consumed resource on the planet: concrete
03:44 - Why concrete is so bad for the environment
04:40 - Cement alternatives
07:40 - Hemp for house construction
09:05 -Saving carbon by building with wood
View all of The Economist’s climate change coverage: econ.st/3b1RwU2
Sign up to our weekly climate change newsletter: econ.st/3b1dtCQ
Listen to our climate podcast, “To a Lesser Degree”: econ.st/3b1RuLU
How cement may yet help slow global warming: econ.st/36srMB1
Efforts to make buildings greener are not working: econ.st/34NxdtU
Green buildings: can mushrooms help? econ.st/3CPguTL
How important is personal action to combating climate change? Listen here: econ.st/3Bh9z3r
Building sustainable cities with wooden skyscrapers: econ.st/3Ihakgb
The rise of 3D-printed houses: econ.st/34Pvi8l
The EU’s proposed carbon tariff gets a mixed reaction from industry: econ.st/36vNQeo
Efficiency eludes the construction industry: econ.st/36q6gwK

[@ICreatedU1]

"I don't recycle because i'd have to go down 4 flights of stairs for each bottle", like what?? Who told her to go down to the bin after every single bottle? And that excuse convinced him? How hard is it to fill a bag or box with the bottles and bring the whole thing down once or twice a week? Makes no sense. Then they had to invest in an indispensable "recycling container" to bring the bottles to the recycling bin, lol.

[@beesareLameWasps]

absolutely mindboggling

[@98Zai]

In 2018, 32% of US American waste was recycled. Before 2018 "Recycling" meant shipping it to China, dumping it in Chinese rivers if I remember correctly. When we can prove recycling isn't a greenwashing scam, I'd be down to shame some people.

[@Lucasjamespetersen]

Look at his face at 2:27 ahahahaha! You can tell from his face that he has stopped arguing that point

[@sarimkamal5649]

Not all economist work is top tier and may have gaping holes in their propaganda stories

[@iknowu9967]

That's what makes me itchy

[@friendlylocal3731]

If you live in a warmer climate, and you want to build a house, build with cob (sand, clay, straw blend). If you live in a colder climate, like I do, then build with straw bales. Both of these materials are cheap, readily available, and load bearing (yes, even straw bales). No further building material innovations are required. What's required is the adaptation of the building industry.

[@logtron]

Nice try big bad wolf

[@thomaspaulson9257]

@@logtron you win the internet

[@Catthepunk]

@@logtron lool

[@veggieboyultimate]

There also a thing called permeable pavement, where precipitation can go through the pavement and aid the soil underneath it.

[@thePlum]

brilliant

[@stevecaskey7895]

The environmental answer and the cost answer for the couple thinking of expanding their home is to simply live in their current home smarter increase their storage where they can but reduce what they have. In the past we have all lived in much smaller homes.

[@johnvigants6768]

And stop spawning. The solution is to swallow.

[@johnmca5643]

Those two and others like them make me shake my head. He's concerned for the environment yet decides to have three children???? Such an oxymoron.

[@user-jy5qm8nc9m]

@@johnmca5643 How can you claim you're an environmentalist and be against life ? Nature is all about the spread of life, cats, dogs and elephants don't go out of their way to not reproduce. The problem is ressource consumption not humans. 10 indians consume less than 1 westerner. It's the western who has to change his consumption instead of seething about children. So sick of this anti-human attitude mascarading as pro-nature.

[@oakmaiden2133]

Only room enough for my clothes, his are in the hallway. Self absorbed and clueless.

[@rabbytca]

I expected better from the Economist. This article didn't even touch on how existing technically sustainable materials have been made unsustainable through planned product obsolescence. Products made with such low expectations of usability, repair-ability and longevity that they barely achieve the goal of being sold to a consumer. Their material blends making them impossible to reuse in a sustainable or economic process.

[@w.n.o2796]

The couple is brought on this show to highlight that humans don't really care about the environment as they claim to be. The solution has to be financially viable for the careless.

[@awesomebrotherhood7698]

Sustainable material is of the few deepest and complex term which we people say too much without knowing. We need to be conscious.

[@mckid99]

Problem is with concrete, there is a vast array of sustainable alternatives being researched, but as of right now, nothing really compares to conventional OPC concrete for cost and performance

[@craigwilliams1707]

Could move away from high density areas to more medium density that could be made more sustainably. Paris and Berlin for example have relatively low building heights compared to other big cities. I guess we might need to change the end goal to match the new materials.

[@shiny_x3]

But that's because the true cost of concrete is externalized. Climate change mitigation is expensive!

[@hunterhq295]

Wastewater sludge can be used to make bricks I hear.

[@leanderbarreto6523]

Subsides are key

[@voidvector]

@@craigwilliams1707 Moving away from higher density also means you lose economy of scale for infrastructure/amenities, thus has higher carbon footprint per capita.

[@kopkar16]

So where is all the wood going to come from to build all these CLT homes? The Amazon and the West of Canada lumber industries are already taking huge tolls on our our environment. Remember, trees, give us oxygen and help prevent flooding, never mind the habitats they provide for flora and fauna. And as for that couple in California? The most sustainable approach to their problem is to reduce their consumer addiction and learn to live with less. Their home looks plenty spacious for a family four.

[@rikulappi9664]

Timber farming in Finland is sustainable. Practically all of our timber is human planted. Using wood for cunstruction traps carbon for decades. Recently the biomass in our forests has been increasing too. Timber production be profitable and sustainable, but only if businesses are controlled with strict laws which are actually enforced.

[@mikenaylor5365]

In sustainable forestry, it is often the case that 2 new trees are planted for every 1 tree that is chopped down. These are relatively fast growing evergreen trees so grow all year around. They absorb CO2 from the atmosphere in order to grow.

[@jaredheal7645]

I am currently building a hempcrete greenhouse, it is an amazing material

[@thinkhemp8153]

fantastic, where are you building this greenhouse Jared?

[@dannyhughes4889]

Rumor has it that the World is fast running out of suitable sand for manufacturing Concrete.

[@bobshakor8184]

Graphene-reinforced concrete not only could reduce Carbon footprint of concrete structure but also increase its strength by 30%.

[@SO-th8gc]

Any studies on mass production feasibility?

[@1272Randb]

Not at all viable by scale. People don’t understand how much concrete is used and what that looks like.

[@saranbhatia8809]

Eco friendly and environmentally conscious wisdom should be on everyone's agenda !

[@brunoamaral4759]

Wonderful reporting. Very informative, though you’ve completely forgotten to mention Francis Kéré, Pritzker-awarded architect from Burkina Faso. The Economist should look a bit more south sometimes 😊

[@socksal]

After 20 years in an old house with a troublesome crawlspace, I'm glad my new house was built on a concrete slab.

[@safuwanfauzi5014]

Rumah Gadang , in Sumatra are still the best wooden traditional house, earthquake proof, cold inside at hot climates and beautiful.

[@GoGreenPost]

I read recently that even if concrete were manufactured with solar, there would still be huge emissions from the emissions released by the concrete itself. I also read about companies making cement products that actually absorb emissions. It's in its early stages, but I'd love to see more about it.

[@nunosilva187]

Well, concrete needs co2 in its composition so eletric manufacturing wouldnt change much

[@Ayanda846]

I love "The economist " because it talks about everything💖

[@rabbitbobo4131]

of course you can build without concrete, Houses has been build without concrete for thousands of years. The matter is that every resource that can be used for construction is running out, plastic used for epoxy and paint, Lime used for binding and surface, sands which is the basis of most frame or building.

[@donaldcarey114]

Roman structures built with concrete are still in use today - not many wooden or mud brick are more than a 100 years old.

[@johnwang9914]

However, aggregate for concrete is one of the few downcycling options for many materials and though a lot of CO₂ is produced in making cement as the binder for the aggregate, the cement reacts over time to absorb atmospheric CO₂ sequestering it indefinitely. There other binders from plastic, mycelium, mud, and compressed earth but they all have less compressive strength.

[@aliciafreitag6682]

Seriously?! The face of this problem is a couple with a huge house who needs even more space?! For christ sake I am sure everybody will sympathise 🥺

[@jeremypownall1520]

Reducing concrete waste or the amount of over design (more cement in the concrete mix) is currently the biggest lever that we have for carbon reduction in the space.

[@1272Randb]

100% the waste is from the designers and engineering community. Insane how things are over designed for the sake of being over designed.

[@pranshumishra9535]

So, for sustainability you start comparing emissions in Asia to that in America without highlighting basic differences and start using wood because its renewable as if we are not facing any deforestation at all. The lady who can't go 4 floors down is talking about sustainability. hmm interesting.

[@usa-racistwarmachine3631]

Typical westerner hypocrisy

[@brucetheshark266]

Cement companies are also takin action in order to reduce CO2 emissions. Changing the type of cement, using alternative fuels, etc. The goal is to be net carbon zero by 2040.

[@StephBer1]

Builders, customers and designers have to learn to respect the terrain and future weather. My city in Australia has just flooded again from another "once in a century" flood. The 2nd in 10 years. When I was growing up all my city's houses were built on wooden stumps from 1 - 3 metres above the ground. My parents built their last house in 1974, of brick and concrete, six months before the worst flood in our recorded history. Even though they didn't flood, I remember Mum saying that they should have built in the old way, on wooden stilts. My generation was constantly told that they only built in wood for coolness against the summer heat, but my parent's generation knew it was for flood protection, which was rare then, but not now.

[@eprabhat]

As the Economist to visit Ram Temple being built in a Ayodhya, UP , india L& T is building a mega structure ( Sree Ram Janambhoomi Temple ) , with zero use of - Metal - RCC - Etc It’s all about Granite Base and Pink sand stone on top, exactly the way ancient Indian technology

[@j2174]

Do the US local councils not provide recycling containers to each house and apartment?

[@TheAlbinoskunk]

Sorry but why did this video waste 2 minutes talking about a couple's closet space and their first date? They added absolutely nothing to the video, they hardly even mentioned concrete

[@pitot1988]

Here is the irony: By having more than two kids, this upper middle class couple already undoing all the socalled "environmentally conscious" decisions. Yeah buying oneself out with expensive "green" solution will make one feel better, but at the end they are still adding large carbon footprint by adding more humans.

[@kennedymulinda1025]

Interesting research on hempcrete..

[@snowflakemelter7171]

Make mudhuts great again to save the climate.

[@mikeaskme3530]

@Snowflake Melter, That is not a bad ideal, for most of Human history, sundried mudbricks, clay mud bricks have been used. Most people like to think once concrete was discovered by Ancient Romans every home was made with it, and then we forgot about it. In truth, cement was only used for constructing national projects, and the common folks used mudbricks, clay bricks and other natural materials. It has been the pattern all over the world, the commoners usually had less extravagant building materials like cob, adobe (which is mudbricks or clay brick materials), the rich more than likely used wood.

[@JonelleJones]

This is a great video but how do these alternative sustainable materials stand up to the impact of seismic or subsurface activities, especially in multi-story constructs?

[@millennial3001]

It is possible..

[@PMcGuffin]

Cross laminated timber does well

[@marmara9741]

Roads cover the ground and so the ground cannot absorb the water. Then you have concrete sidewalks, etc. The drainage system is another big issue...water cannot be absorbed by the ground. We all know the results.

[@lawrencefox563]

Go team sustainability ,nice to know you're out there.

[@climatehero]

The Japanese and Chinese built many complicated temples that survive earthquakes without nails, cement and such. The Incas erected huge stone walls without cement.

[@jamesgrover2005]

It does give me some hope🙏

[@desironloic9721]

If you knew…

[@jamesgrover2005]

@@desironloic9721 I do, hence the comment...

[@thembamabona9809]

How on earth is that rich SF family ("struggling" with the costs of enlarging their single-family house in one of the most expensive real estate areas of the world) representative as concerns this issue? How could the problem of re-using existing building stock rather than tearing down to build from scratch not be mentioned? How could big, single-family houses in Scandinavia (though made from wood) with SUVs (for crying out loud) parked outside be represented as a green solution? The amount of western hypocrisy in this video defies belief. And I say this as a middle-class little Swiss-SouthAfrican living in the heartland of Western wealth! (aka Switzerland)

[@Moses_VII]

Best comment here

[@mark1h2023]

The love the title!

[@mattiafrancescobruni8318]

Could be interesting to see limestone (CaCO3) being used instead of concrete....would be carbon negative material. If only it could be as versatile as concrete in structural properties.

[@keepingitwild5994]

Conclusion: there is no real substitution to concrete.

[@mckid99]

Geopolymer concrete can be self healing as well. Can be expensive tho :( depsite using waste materials like fly ash

[@mlg1279]

The hypocrisy in this video is mind boggling! The Economist's idea of sustainability is a couple deciding to reduce the size of their proposed extension when they are already living in a huge house. They clearly don't need the extension. Has The Economist heard of the tiny home movement?

[@jk-gi7sh]

Yes yes that wood would come from "environmental friendly" Timber industry. 😂

[@alparslankorkmaz2964]

Nice video.

[@DavidMcCalister]

Cost is having a big effect for the industry in Toronto Canada, so many of our projects are taking a serious look into steel which currently is a bit better than concrete. Some of it is starting to switch over to hydrogen which will work well when we get enough solar and excess midday energy to produce hydrogen. I'm wondering if steel (which still requires a parking garage and up to 2nd floor to keep transfers in the concrete) will be enough to take that industrial waste and use it in the concrete of the building? If they are in the right proportions.

[@pn4960]

8:38 here is an ironic yet accurate picture of our efforts to slow down climate change : an ecological house… with an SUV parked in front of it. We are looking for technological solutions to save us yet we aren’t willing to make sacrifices where it’s needed. Such a heavy car is never going to be ecological, electric or not.

[@IamTimEre]

Are you on Nebula ?

[@jonc67uk]

Lime based hempcrete... Sequesters co2 with use & during production.

[@maxdevries3351]

Interesting topic, but rather ponderous and slow

[@pepitoperez594]

But it was not clear why concrete has emissions??? In what part the process concrete produce CO2??

[@juandiegoalvarezospina5414]

Hey Pepito, Emissions are mainly produced during cement manufacturing. Cement is produced by burning, at high temperature, limestone and clays. Burning limestone produces CO2.

[@1272Randb]

80% of it is from cement. Portion of that is the actual energy required for heating limestone to 1450deg C. The other is the actual reaction that occurs from limestone (and other products in smaller quantities) to cement. It release some carbon emission to the atmosphere. The other twenty is concrete production and transportation

[@jimmyliu4614]

More investment in research on low carbon material and manufacturing is needed.

[@e.priest8937]

What about finding a solution for CO2 emissions from concrete production?

[@meng-hsuanlee8543]

Calling Helsinki “unassuming” is just criminal

[@MrBenzcdi]

Offices?

[@nothingmuch2023]

Uhm... they kinda missed the point of hempcrete being fire resistant, thus solving the burning wood problem, once the wood studs are encompassed in hempcrete... yeah, oops. Editors, check the floor. You must have cut those clips, eh?

[@17addidas]

What about Bamboo ?? Not mentioned in the piece

[@jml732]

We need a plant-hybrid between spruce and bamboo - That would be magic 🌲+🎍(🧬) = 🪵

[@markcampbell7577]

Prefabricated houses in rhino paint. Joinery based prefabricated house with rhino paint . Rhino paint is based on preservation of wood from volcanic eruptions.

[@NyasuNasu]

There sure are different "standards" people entitles themselves according to well... various factors.

[@dilansankalpa1019]

I think we absolutely need alternative materials for concrete if we are to save the earth from potential climate armageddon. Everything has pros and cons. Yes, maybe some materials can't be used for massive constructions. But why don't we promote them to be used in small constructions like detached houses? Small steps towards sustainability can make a big difference in the future. It's now or never humans!

[@ilaibavati6941]

Most people shouldn't be living in detached houses. The most sustainable model is compact urbanism, with a handful of farmers and the like. The suburban model must die.

[@joeedh]

And why would concrete cause climate Armageddon? Do you have any idea how silly that sounds? This is the problem with so-called climate activism. You invest in every single possible solution that cannot work and ban the ones that do.

[@NylonStrap]

Concrete is also one of the most recyclable products in the construction industry. They can be pulverized and separated to reuse as new concrete raw materials or use chunks of it as aggregate for new construction.

[@dalewalkonen7847]

When we desperately need to preserve forests, whose carbon absorbing properties take decades to recover, proposing cross laminated skyscrapers is irresponsible. We can't keep expanding the human footprint, which is already greater than the mass of living matter on the earth.

[@abcdefghi9]

Waste Plastic needs to be shredded and mixed with concrete, its a great way to reduce ocean plastic levels and store more plastic waste efficiently, also it i.proves concrete strength.

[@potapotapotapotapotapota]

I would totally build and live in a house made out of sustainable materials, but the fact is that concrete houses don't fall apart, yet you build a wooden house and it starts creaking and needs major repairs after 50 years. And since the price of a house depends on its land not its materials, it would be more cost-saving in the long run to buy a concrete house.

[@jodigalloway6818]

Materials are also much more expensive than they used to be

[@desironloic9721]

… so many misconceptions … Yeah, I think you have the wrong idea about concrete, sustainable materials and building technology in general. Most people do.

[@hunterhq295]

Not many construction waste recycling or management companies where I am at

[@vsstdtbs3705]

no - but i am sure there is a lot of old ladies. beginning of ancient rome, and more other cultures, men could put down their subjects - wives and slaves. it controlled the population. now there are 7.5 billion humans of which 2 billion are old ladies - far too many.

[@tahajobaer9922]

We can use lime rather than using cement I think

[@eunicequino6291]

Should've consulted an architect.

[@vthilton]

Save Our Planet Now

[@vsstdtbs3705]

since universal suffrage, and women now dominate voting, it is too late. beginning of ancient rome, men could put down their subjects - wives and slaves. they were his property. end of rome was womens rights then collapse. ancient china was great, when an emperor died, his concubines went with him. controlled the population.

[@525Lines]

A timber bean will outlast a steel I-beam in a fire. The steel beam loses it's strength in heat and will collapse in a fire. A timber beam will be charred but retains its strength longer.

[@helenscott4773]

I was surprised there was no mention of Rammed Earth as an alternative to concrete building. Its sustainable, hard like concrete, thermal mass helps reduce heating and cooling needs and many other benefits.

[@theantmattia]

Meanwhile recycling plastics does barely anything in the u.s. the u.s. still just throws it out.

[@DavidPaulNewtonScott]

Sodium silicate (watergalass) makes wood fire resistant.

[@talibmohammedzakir3760]

If wood was the replacement, imagine on how much deforestation there will be, like there isn't much enough.

[@glennalexon1530]

It seems unfair to assign the cost of living indoors to the "construction industry". The cost should more reasonably be assigned to the choice to have children, the cost of being comfortable, or luxurious living.

[@joeedh]

The cost is mostly real estate prices.

[@lsauce45]

means No Solution?

[@paguliukas]

I know the answer 💪 Less people less co2 U welcome world

[@jml732]

Agreed, but tell this to developing countries - the ideal population should be 2-3 kids per family, including adopted kids if possible. It's ultra-religious and/or poor -families wich have over 3 children per women. - start taxing families with more than 4 children - but give loans to families who adopt children - give loans to families (or single-parents) and free education with max 3 children

[@thePlum]

@@jml732 patience and we'll reach pick capacity and trend downwards over time. Also Just Paul, more people = more potential solutions to our problems, depends how you look at things, maybe more people is the answer, maybe not, either way, I don't wish for genocide.

[@pajeetsingh]

We? Not me.

[@riclou1910]

No comments...

[@PlayMyMusicPlaylist]

Lol wood tower. Just send termite for demolishion

[@honestjoe632]

Is this not where companies like Carbon Cure and Blue Planet can have a more fundamental impact...

[@brandoncook1020]

Carbon cure doesn’t work… a lot of folks in industry call it a ponzi scheme. They’ve never generated more than a 1% reduction.

[@WhiteManInAVan]

Interesting stuff but human nature and economics means that this on a large scale will mean illegally logged wood from places like the Amazon being shipped to Europe.

[@bahamut149]

As a person living in 3rd world country I knew the couple at 1:06 are pretending to care about environment. Their house is already big enough.

[@jacob476]

Really? This is the family the economist chooses eh

[@leeboriack8054]

Hubby sounds environmentally conscious and the wife has pushed his things into the hallway. Would it be different if he pushed her things into the hallway and she was environmentally conscious?

[@pickledpigknuckles6945]

When will we be able to grow a House 🍄 🏠

[@InternetLaser]

This family seems like the demographic to drive through downtown manhattan

[@Luca-zq5lo]

100 square feet? I think (hope) she means square meters...

[@paulcatten403]

we need carbon, we need trees, and trees need carbon.

[@MrSouter2]

the single problem here is the amount of people in existence

[@metalicminer6231]

Give me a garden, let me grow my own food.

[@leanderbarreto6523]

Didn't they get the memo, 3 kids smh

[@maoozahmad8868]

In every technique there is one thing common, every alternative require wood and from where wood will come???🤣 , its required flinty deforestation.

[@kayjr9795]

No we cant!

[@whitefox9]

Wooden houses are useless for this kind of weather Brick and concrete houses are better suited

[@catonpillow]

Concrete solution? Pun intended?

[@garysantos7053]

-Hempcrete and Concrete are made from Lime- Lime Productions High Carbon Footprint of Product to Impede Growth Lime Productions is primarily manufactured from limestone, wherein it is heated to break from calcium carbonate to calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. The CO2 generated during the production process is one of the greenhouse gases that has led to several calamities and global warming while leading to drastic consequences. Furthermore, production is a highly energy-intensive process and adds to the industry's overall carbon footprint. Mild exposure to carbon dioxide has effects such as nausea, headache, and drowsiness. Moreover, heavy exposure can lead to breathing irregularity, confusion, elevated blood pressure, increased arrhythmia, and even death due to suffocation. Such effects on human and environmental health have been a key reason for consumers seeking alternative calcium hydroxide solutions. -FORTUNE BUSINESS INSIGHTS

[@ImranHussain-nk7kk]

Building and construction are responsible for 39% - 40% of all carbon emissions in the world .

[@vsstdtbs3705]

at the beginning of democracy only men could vote, now most voters are women. as women dominate voting, expect more construction of old ladies rest homes, construction of roads to rest homes, cutting forests for livestock to feed them, fossil fuels for transport. only after the old ladies are looked after, will climate then be an issue.

[@cheesemaster113]

it must be nice to be rich

[@nepalimana]

Our ancestors were building. Pyramid is an example. So we can build without concrete.

[@alexanderclaylavin]

CLT is legit

[@franciscosanpedro3836]

Trees give oxygen 😂🤣 why would cutting down trees be more environmentally responsible?

[@oliverbaldock6608]

If the wood comes from sustainably managed forests, then cutting down trees of the right age can increase the carbon capture of the forest as a whole.

[@joeedh]

@@oliverbaldock6608 Such propaganda. Planting trees in huge numbers is not easy; just ask the Chinese. Using wood at such a large scale will result in importing from whichever countries are willing to lie about their reforestation efforts.

[@oliverbaldock6608]

@@joeedh Agreed. A lot of the issues, as far as I'm aware, with the forestry efforts in China came from the planting of monoculture and non-native species, which definitely aren't sustainable.