Circular Economy for Cement Could Be Worth €110B by 2050

The concrete industry is responsible for 8% of all global carbon emissions; and 30-40% of today’s solid waste is created through the construction and maintenance of the built environment.

Circular models for production and reuse of concrete and cement could produce €110 billion in net value and avoid or mitigate two billion tons of CO₂ emissions by 2050, according to a new McKinsey & Company report.

This will be driven by capture, storage and usage of CO2 from cement and concrete production; reuse of energy from waste material; and recirculation of materials and minerals across the built environment. Circular cement value chain: Sustainable and profitable projects that adoption of circular technologies could also decarbonize 80 percent of all cement and concrete emissions by 2050.

“Applying circular principles to cement and concrete would not only help decarbonize the built environment but generate enormous economic value,” says Jukka Maksimainen, global co-leader of McKinsey’s Global Energy & Materials practice. “The cement industry is perfectly positioned to create closed loops for CO2, materials and minerals, and energy. We estimate each of these circular technologies will be value-positive by 2050, while some are already more profitable than today’s typical solutions. This will also drastically reduce global emissions and 30 to 40 percent of the world’s solid waste created through construction and maintenance of the built environment.”

Cement and concrete are the linchpins of the built environment; and their global demand has nearly tripled over the past 20 years with the proliferation of urban development. Concrete is one of the most consumed materials on our planet, second only to water. Today, the concrete industry is responsible for 8 percent of all global carbon emissions; and 30 to 40 percent of today’s solid waste is created through the construction and maintenance of the built environment.

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