Bridges
- Publication no: AP-R757-26
- ISBN: 978-1-923617-22-3
- Published: 27 February 2026
- PDF (free) Download
This research report comprehensively explores strategies for reducing emissions associated with cement and concrete use in transportation infrastructure, with a focus on Australia and New Zealand. Through industry consultation, the report examines strategies to increase the adoption of low carbon concrete across both countries. It identifies key barriers, compares transport agency specifications, and highlights clauses affecting low carbon concrete use. The availability of low carbon concrete and Environmental Product Declarations across Australia and New Zealand, including regional areas, is also assessed.
The report features case studies of successful low carbon concrete applications and provides recommendations to enhance specifications and procurement processes. These recommendations address emissions benchmarks, handling of precast concrete, and techniques like maturity testing to accurately evaluate strength gain, all aimed at promoting sustainable construction practices.
In conclusion, the report outlines factors impacting emissions reduction and sustainable design for concrete supply in Australia and New Zealand, recommending pathways to overcome current barriers. It offers a comprehensive review of existing standards, identifying progress opportunities and further research needs to support a more sustainable built environment. The report’s primary recommendation is the formation of a National Body-led Australia/New Zealand Low Carbon Concrete (Aus/NZLCC) Implementation Taskforce to guide the implementation of carbon reduction strategies across both countries.
- 1. Introduction
- 1.1 Overview.
- 1.2 Purpose
- 1.3 Scope
- 1.4 Approach
- 2. Carbon Impact of Concrete
- 2.1 Carbon impacts at the asset level
- 2.2 Carbon impacts at the concrete level
- 3. Low Carbon Concrete Opportunities
- 3.1 What is low carbon concrete?
- 3.2 What are low carbon materials?
- 4. Current Barriers and Challenges
- 4.1 Key barriers and challenges identified
- 4.2 Solutions to overcome current barriers
- 5. Opportunities for Updating Transportation Jurisdiction Specifications
- 5.1 Opportunities in material requirements
- 5.2 Opportunities in constructability requirements
- 6. Availability of Low Carbon Concrete Products
- 6.1 Current status of low carbon concrete products in Australia
- 6.2 Current status of low carbon concrete products in New Zealand
- 6.3 Impacts on future availability
- 7. Carbon Impact of a Concrete Mix
- 7.1 What are Environmental Product Declarations?
- 7.2 Availability of Environmental Product Declarations for concrete
- 7.3 What is the geographical variation?
- 7.4 Concrete carbon intensity by strength grade
- 7.5 How can transportation jurisdictions encourage reduction in the carbon impact of concrete?
- 8. Success Factors to Implement Low Carbon Concrete
- 8.1 Case study: specifications and standards to facilitate low carbon concrete implementation
- 8.2 Case study: regulatory and policy to facilitate low carbon concrete implementation
- 8.3 Case study: government procurement to facilitate low carbon concrete implementation
- 8.4 Case study: contractor procurement to facilitate low carbon concrete implementation
- 8.5 Case study: construction methodology to support low carbon concrete implementation
- 8.6 Case study: design optimisation to support sustainability
- 8.7 Case study: knowledge and education to facilitate low carbon concrete implementation
- 8.8 Case study: collaborative research to improve low carbon concrete implementation
- 9. Proposed Roadmap for Implementing Low Carbon Concrete
- 9.1 Suggested phased transition plan
- 9.2 Primary recommendation of the study
- 9.3 Key Performance Indicators and research for proposed phased transition plan
- References
- Appendix A Summary of Literature Review
- Appendix B Stakeholder Consultation Outcomes
- B.1 Design standards limitations
- B.2 Lack of knowledge on long-term performance and risk appetite
- B.3 Lack of awareness and expertise
- B.4 Economic considerations
- B.5 Lack of promotion of success stories
- B.6 Rigid procurement/contracting processes
- B.7 Inconsistent carbon measurement standards
- B.8 Lack of early engagement approaches
- B.9 Lack of collaboration and research
- B.10 Supply chain and availability challenges
- B.11 Slow early-age strength gain, concrete lifting and transport requirements
- B.12 Lack of performance-based approaches in current standards
- B.13 Lack of market demand
- Appendix C Opportunities to Overcome Barriers
- C.1 Incentives and policy
- C.2 Regulatory and standards development
- C.3 Stakeholder engagement and collaboration
- C.4 Training and capacity building
- C.5 Design, planning, and procurement