A lot has been talked about and done in the concrete industry to reduce carbon, but embodied carbon in construction has been somewhat of a niche in the world of sustainability, so it is fascinating to see the issue picked up by McKinsey & Company. For those who don’t follow the rarified air of the few largest corporate strategic consultants, McKinsey & Company is probably the most visible and respected American worldwide strategic consulting company. The bottom line is that such attention both raises the stakes for concrete and should dramatically increase the market opportunity as corporate owners, who listen to McKinsey, increasingly emphasize low carbon construction in all new construction.
Focusing on the global impact of construction, the article begins:“As one of the world’s biggest economic ecosystems, the construction industry has a major part to play in achieving global sustainability goals. “Ecosystem” in this article refers to the full life cycle (design, materials manufacturing, construction, usage, and demolition) of all residential and commercial buildings and infrastructure. While the industry is generally not seen as a sustainability pioneer, the entire ecosystem looks set to evolve.”
Here are a few key points:
- 53 percent of senior construction executives interviewed by McKinsey expected sustainability to accelerate due to the COVID-19 crisis.
- Sustainability has rapidly become one of the most frequent topics that clients ask McKinsey about.
- Efforts to improve sustainability in construction is one of McKinsey’s core priorities.
See the full article here: McKinsey & Company article
