Embodied carbon and whole-life performance
We are taking action to reduce the embodied CO2 of building materials but, to minimise CO2 emissions, it is vital to focus on the whole-life performance of the house, building or other infrastructure, and understand the positive influence of building materials during the in-use phase. This approach optimises the significant CO2 efficiency benefits that properties like durability and thermal mass deliver for buildings when a product is in use. For infrastructure such as roads, utilities and bridges, we are well placed to help clients choose the right product, whether their focus is on product durability, recycled content, recyclability or product carbon footprint.
We improve carbon efficiencies across the whole process, from extraction and transport to manufacture and end use. By improving our operational efficiency and using recycled materials, we cut our own carbon footprint while promoting the whole-life benefits of our products and materials to customers. We provide tools to help our customers make the best choice for their particular application.
Tarmac products provide the perfect example of our whole-life approach. Our TermoDeck system and concrete blocks can exploit the robustness and thermal mass properties of concrete, helping to regulate a building’s internal temperatures and reducing the energy needed for heating and cooling. Other examples of products, which enable clients to reduce the overall carbon footprint of buildings and infrastructure, include innovative asphalt products such as Masterlayer, FoamMaster and TarmacDry, and more durable concrete products such as Topforce and Toproc.
Read more on Tarmac’s Sustainable Products
Adapting infrastructure for climate change
Making infrastructure more resilient and able to adapt to our changing climate is an important challenge for the whole of the UK. In May 2011, The Government published a report on Climate Resilient Infrastructure: Preparing for a Changing Climate, which details how, in addition to moving towards a lower carbon economy, increasing the resilience of our infrastructure for the demands of climate change is a key priority.
Tarmac and the wider industry are supporting this goal by providing materials to build houses, roads and infrastructure in a way that makes them resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Our products provide solutions in numerous applications, whether it is by helping to create more effective flood defences, more efficient buildings or more durable roads and infrastructure. For example, the thermal mass of our concrete blocks helps to regulate the internal temperatures of buildings, keeping them cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, reducing the need for energy-intensive heating and cooling systems. We also supply more durable asphalt products that help to ensure roads last longer and need to be replaced less often, while our porous asphalt helps manage intense rainfall events and flooding.
Aside from this, Tarmac’s products are also being used to build the UK’s renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure of the future, such as wind farms and nuclear power plants, which will help reduce the overall energy-related carbon emissions from UK industry.
