Ibstock and Earth Friendly Concrete form partnership to support ESG ambitions

26 September 2022

Ibstock and Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC) have entered into a new partnership to create ultra-low carbon concrete products.

This exciting partnership supports Ibstock’s ambitious ESG targets. Having recently launched its ESG Strategy to 2030, Ibstock is committed to ‘Manufacture Materials for Life’ and improving the environmental performance of its products. Its milestone 2030 target is to achieve 20% of sales turnover revenue from new and sustainable products.

With the built environment accounting for 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions, Ibstock is proactively seeking to develop new solutions with improved environmental performance. EFC is more sustainable than traditional concrete, with around 70% less embodied CO₂ saving 250kg of CO₂ per cubic metre poured. It is made from a binder consisting of industrial waste products, ground granulated blast furnace slag and pulverised fly ash with no Portland Cement.

The partnership will see EFC’s ultra-low carbon, zero cement technology integrated into Ibstock’s diverse portfolio of high-performance building products for the construction industry, including its range of products for the rail, infrastructure and UK housing markets. The technology has performance advantages over Ordinary Portland Cement-based products including improved durability, lower shrinkage, higher flexural tensile strength and increased fire resistance and is the only zero-cement concrete technology that has been proven at scale on real life commercial projects across the world.

Darren Waters, Chief Operating Officer at Ibstock, said: “As a business at the heart of building, our ambition is to be the most sustainable manufacturer of concrete products in the UK. Collaborating with EFC marks a significant step in achieving this goal as we collaborate and innovate to manufacture materials for life.

“More than ever, customers are looking for products which offer great functionality but also have robust sustainability credentials. In 2020, the Ibstock concrete division invested in a new concrete laboratory at its site in Anstone, Sheffield, to facilitate the development of sustainable concrete that features reduced embodied carbon and therefore has a lower environmental impact. At this advanced facility, we are already developing and testing innovative new concrete mixes that incorporate EFC to ensure we achieve our own sustainability goals, as well as contribute to those of the wider sector, without compromising on quality or performance.”

EFC UK Regional Manager Andy Izod said: “We are delighted to strengthen our presence in the UK through this partnership with Ibstock.

“We will not only focus on introducing Earth Friendly Concrete into the wider construction market across a range of projects, regions, applications and supply chains but will also share our ground-breaking technology with partners like Ibstock, which will help them to achieve ultra-low carbon outcomes for their business.”

Since it was launched in 2020, EFC has saved around 2,000 tonnes of CO₂ across construction projects. It has been used in several high-profile projects including High Speed 2 (HS2) and Silvertown Tunnel.

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