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We use 30 billion tonnes of concrete each year — here’s how to make it sustainable

Promising methods are emerging to reduce emissions, resource use and waste from construction industries.
By
  1. Jianzhuang Xiao

    1. Jianzhuang Xiao is a professor of recycled concrete materials and structures at Tongji University, Shanghai, China, and a vice-president at Guangxi University, Nanning, China.

  2. Shuai Zou

    1. Shuai Zou is a PhD candidate and senior engineer in civil and environmental engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China, and the Nano and Advanced Materials Institute, Hong Kong, China.

  3. Chi Sun Poon

    1. Chi Sun Poon is a professor focusing on eco-construction materials and waste management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.

  4. Man Lung Sham

    1. Man Lung Sham is the chief commercial officer at the Nano and Advanced Materials Institute, Hong Kong, China.

  5. Zongjin Li

    1. Zongjin Li is a professor of civil, nano and functional materials at Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.

  6. Surendra P. Shah

    1. Surendra P. Shah is a professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, USA, and a professor emeritus at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA, specializing in concrete technology, material science, mechanics and structural engineering.

A 3D printer prints concrete walls at the construction site of a data center in Germany.

The use of 3D printing to lay down concrete can reduce carbon emissions and waste in construction. Credit: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty

Cheap, strong and versatile, concrete is the second most consumed material globally after water, with 30 billion tonnes used annually (Nature 597, 593–594; 2021). Production of concrete is energy intensive and is responsible for more than 7% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions — of which cement accounts for the vast majority.

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Nature 638, 888-890 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00568-4

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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