Decarbonising Concrete

In 2020, we began a journey to research and develop real-world solutions that would minimise the embodied carbon of concrete. Working in collaboration with partners of Forterra, PCE, Accelar and Curtins, we have achieved our ambition. Creating a suite of concrete mixes and design solutions capable of adoption by industry today ... for immediate carbon gains. Supported by Innovate UK funding, we are proud to share our solutions with you.

To learn more get in touch: netzero@akerlof.co.uk

Project objectives

Carbon reduction

Solution achieves a significant carbon reduction from the baseline

Ease of manufacture

Solution is compliant with codes and regulation and is technically ready for application across multiple sectors including residential and healthcare.

Structural strength

Solution is optimised, eradicating carbon by focusing on interactions at every stage of the process.

Commercial viability

Commercially viable option for the market in terms of price, risk and production.

The approach

Partners

Colin Dowds

Concrete Technical Lead
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Nia Lewis

Operations Management Graduate
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Chris McReynolds

Projects Director
PCE Ltd

Lyndsey Vipond

Senior Consultant
Accelar Ltd

John Handcomb

Partner
Akerlof Ltd

Norman Brown

Specialist Precast Concrete
PCE Ltd

Clare Ollernshaw

Associate Director
Accelar Ltd

Jane Anderson

Director
ConstructionLCA Ltd

Cameron Deamer

General Operative
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Nathan Lomas

Team Leader
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Gregor Gordon

Construction Coodinator
PCE Ltd

Rokas Vareikis

DMC Coodinator
PCE Ltd

Simon Harold

Business Development Director
PCE Ltd

Mike Nelson

Commercial Director
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Josien Van Der Meer

Project Manager
Akerlof Ltd

Garry Langston

Preconstruction Director
PCE Ltd

Josh Ward

Trainee Project Coordinator
PCE Ltd

Haydyn Campbell

General Operative
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Grzegorz Kasnicki

Team Leader
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Matthew Atkin

Joiner
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Paul Barson

Head of Operations
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Paul Mellor

Batcher
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Reece Shipman

Works Supervisor
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Ron Atkin

Production Manager
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Steve Chiltern

Team Leader
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Steve Miles

General Operative
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Wayne Campbell

General Operative
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Wayne Castledine

Steel Fixer
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Artur Tracz

General Operative
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Andy Potts

Batcher
Forterra Building Products Ltd

Matthew Davidson

Senior Engineer
Curtins Ltd

Alexander Lorincz

Project Engineer
Curtins Ltd

James Harrison

Associate
Curtins Ltd

Read the report summary now.

Press releases

Decarbonising Precast Concrete

Led by Akerlof, a collaborative team spanning the value chain have worked to develop commercially viable processes that significantly reduce the embodied carbon of precast concrete - developing real-world solutions that deliver better environmental outcomes.

Jamie Hillier

Partner
Contact

With a penchant for tweed and jackets with leather arm patches, Jamie began his career as a quantity surveyor, before climbing the ladder to lead major projects for a Tier 1 contractor.

Eventually expanding his book collection beyond copies of SMM7, Jamie has interest in a broad range of subjects linked to delivering better outcomes for society and the environment.

His strategic insights on MMC and behavioural science have made their way into numerous government, industry and academic publications, including the Construction Playbook, Transforming Infrastructure Performance Roadmap to 2030, the Platform Rulebook and the RIBA DfMA Overlay.

John Handscomb

Partner
Contact

Construction is in John’s blood. Learning from his father who was a planner and project manager, John began his career by working on some iconic projects in both the public and private sector.

As a procurement expert and integrator of new ways of working, John has pioneered the integration of platform principles, DfMA processes and supply chain within over £5bn projects in the last 15 years, for some of the largest building programmes in the UK. Despite his considerable expertise, John keeps it simple, communicating complicated ideas with ease and helping to equip the industry with new knowledge and skills.

Outside of Akerlof, John enjoys his executive role with technology start-up ScanTech Digital, spending time with his family, taking trips down the football, playing a bit of golf with friends and the odd pint. 

Our name is shared with George Akerlof, a Nobel Prize-winning economist.

His seminal paper, Market for Lemons, demonstrated the devastating consequences of making decisions under the conditions of quality uncertainty and unequal information between buyers and sellers, increasing the chance of buyers ending up with a ‘lemon’.

This 50-year-old concept continues to retain parallels within the construction industry.

Through our insight and experience, we can rebalance this information asymmetry on behalf of our clients, levelling the playing field to deliver better outcomes.