The Future of Concrete: How the Market Is Changing in 2026

For decades, the fundamentals of how concrete is designed, tested, and produced have remained largely the same. Strength, durability, availability, and cost have always driven decisions — and for good reason.

But right now, a lot of small shifts are stacking up and together, they’re changing how concrete is specified, evaluated, and selected on projects.

Low-carbon concrete, sustainability requirements, EPDs, and carbon reporting are no longer side conversations. Producers are being asked to respond to them in real time, even as definitions, benchmarks, and expectations remain unsettled.

This isn’t about a single regulation or trend. It’s about how the market for concrete is evolving as a whole.

Concrete Is Being Evaluated Differently Than It Was Five Years Ago

For most of the industry’s modern history, concrete selection was driven by a familiar set of constraints: performance, availability, cost, and schedule. If a mix met spec, could be supplied reliably, and fit the budget and timeline, the decision was straightforward. Those fundamentals still matter.

What’s changed is that they’re no longer sufficient on their own.

• Producers are now seeing carbon-related considerations enter the process at multiple points.
• Embodied carbon limits are being written directly into specifications.
• EPDs are being requested during bidding and preconstruction, not as an afterthought.
• Sustainability language is appearing even on projects without formal carbon targets, signaling expectations without always defining them.
• And in some cases, owners are actively comparing mixes based on carbon data alongside strength and price.

While EPDs were not designed to guarantee apples-to-apples product comparisons, they are increasingly used this way in practice. That gap between intent and application is one of the central challenges producers are now navigating.

This shift isn’t confined to niche or experimental projects. It’s showing up across commercial, infrastructure, data center, and public-sector work, changing how concrete is evaluated long before a mix ever reaches the plant.

**Low-Carbon Concrete Is Moving From “Optional” to “Expected”**

In many regions, low-carbon concrete began as a pilot effort or a voluntary checkbox for progressive owners. That phase is beginning to give way. While requirements remain uneven, producers are increasingly encountering carbon considerations through multiple, overlapping channels.

In some cases, carbon thresholds are being tied directly to procurement programs or public-sector policies, influencing material selection in concrete terms. In others, rating systems and programs like LEED v5 and Buy Clean are shaping expectations earlier in the design and bidding process, even when they stop short of firm limits.

The result isn’t consistency—but it is direction. Even when requirements are loosely defined or applied unevenly, carbon is becoming part of how concrete is evaluated, alongside the traditional measures producers are already expected to meet.

How This Is Already Affecting Real Projects

On real projects, these shifts rarely appear as a single, well-defined requirement. They surface as a series of practical pressures that move through an organization.

• Estimators are often the first to encounter unfamiliar carbon documentation during bidding, with limited guidance on how it will ultimately be evaluated.
• That uncertainty quickly lands with technical services teams, who are asked to produce or explain EPDs on short notice, sometimes late in the preconstruction process.
• Sales teams are then left to translate sustainability expectations to owners and contractors, walking a narrow line between clarity and overcommitment.
• All of this feeds back to producers, who must weigh added risk when specifications push carbon targets without clearly defined guardrails.

The challenge isn’t resistance — it’s uncertainty. Most producers want to respond constructively, but they’re reluctant to compromise performance, margins, or reliability in the absence of clear, shared expectations.

Why the Industry Needs to Come Together Now

What’s missing isn’t effort—it’s alignment. Requirements are evolving faster than shared guidance, producers are left to solve similar problems in isolation, and owners and designers often lack visibility into plant-level realities. The result is a widening gap between expectations and what can realistically be delivered.

The next phase of concrete sustainability won’t be driven by theory. It will be shaped by practical, shared understanding across producers, designers, contractors, and owners.

That’s why open, industry-wide conversations matter—not to sell solutions, but to build clarity around what’s realistic, what’s coming, and how to prepare.

Introducing The Future of Concrete — 2026 Webinar Series

These shifts raise more questions than they answer. As expectations evolve faster than shared guidance, producers, designers, and owners are being forced to navigate uncertainty in real time — often without a common forum to compare assumptions or lessons learned.

To support those conversations, we’re hosting The Future of Concrete, a monthly webinar series focused on how low-carbon concrete, sustainability, EPDs, and carbon reporting are reshaping the industry.

Each session tackles one part of the picture — from policy and specifications to plant-level decisions and project performance — with a focus on what producers need to know now.

Below is the 2026 session lineup, with topics and descriptions.

2026 Webinar Sessions

Go to the Climate Earth resources section to register for upcoming webinars and watch past ones.

Sustainable Concrete 2026 — The Market Shift Every Producer Must Understand | January 21

An overview of the market and regulatory forces shaping concrete in 2026, how low-carbon demand is affecting specs, pricing, and bidding, and what producers can do now to reduce risk and stay competitive.

The 2026 Policy Landscape — State Carbon Rules, ACI Updates & National Sustainability | February 11

A practical look at the programs influencing concrete specifications, including ACI sustainability updates, LEED v5, Buy Clean, CALGreen, and state-level embodied carbon rules — and how these requirements show up in real bids.

LEED v5, PCR & ACI Changes — What Concrete Producers Must Submit in 2026 | March 11

What’s changing in LEED v5 documentation, Product Category Rules (PCRs), and ACI performance expectations — and how these changes affect existing EPDs and future submissions.

EPDs That Win Work — What Owners Actually Look For | April 8

How owners, GCs, and public agencies evaluate EPDs in qualification packages and bids, why transparency matters, and how producers are already winning work with strong EPD strategies.

Plant-Level Carbon Targets — How Producers Hit 20%, 30% & 40% Reduction Goals | May 13

What plant-level reduction targets look like in practice, how to set achievable goals, and mix optimization strategies that support carbon reduction without disrupting production.

De-Risking Lower-Carbon Concrete — Innovation, Leadership & the Value Proposition | June 10

When producers can charge a premium, how low-carbon mixes influence win rates, and how developers and engineers evaluate risk and value in lower-carbon concrete strategies.

The Performance Question — Making Low-Carbon Mixes That Still Perform | July 8

Addressing early strength, durability, cracking, and finishability concerns, and how producers can lower cement content while remaining compliant with ACI performance standards.

Mix Optimization Deep Dive — Gradation, SCM Strategies & Quantifying Carbon | August 12

A technical deep dive into cement reduction through aggregate gradation, SCM strategies in constrained markets, and how to quantify real carbon savings.

Innovations in Low-Carbon Concrete — What’s Real vs. What’s Coming | September 9

An honest look at CCUS, LC³, recycled aggregates, geopolymers, and novel SCMs — what’s deployable today, what’s still experimental, and realistic adoption timelines.

Communicating Sustainability Without Losing the Room | October 14

How producers can talk about low-carbon concrete with architects, engineers, and contractors — addressing skepticism, myths, and cost concerns without overpromising.

Concrete Sustainability Excellence | November 11

What excellence looks like across the value chain in 2026 — materials, specs, coordination practices, and real project examples that deliver low-GWP outcomes without sacrificing performance or schedule.

Designing With Low-Carbon Concrete — What Designers Need to Know for 2027 | December 9

How architects and engineers can confidently specify low-carbon concrete, what producers can realistically deliver, and how early alignment reduces risk for everyone involved.

Staying Engaged Throughout the Year

The changes affecting concrete aren’t limited to one project or one region. They’re part of a broader shift that will continue to evolve through 2026 and beyond. To keep up throughout the year:

👉 Sign up for the Future of Concrete webinar series to participate in the conversations shaping the industry.

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for practical insights and upcoming sessions

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn for ongoing discussion, updates, and real-world examples

The future of concrete is being shaped right now: by the questions producers are asking and the decisions they’re making every day. Join us as we pave the way for generations to come.