Sustainable Construction

CEMEX aims to lead in sustainable construction by developing building products and solutions that have significant positive sustainability attributes and contribute to the transformation of the construction sector.

Our CEMEX Technology Center works to develop more efficient and sustainable products and processes that meet customer needs for more sustainable building materials. As a result of our research and development efforts, we produce a range of innovative products that can be used to design and construct more energy efficient, sustainable, and accessible buildings.

The following product innovations help to improve the sustainability of buildings and other structures:

Insulating concrete forms, made primarily from polystyrene and filled with concrete to help keep heat out in hot climates and to retain it in cold weather.

Self-compacting concrete, which has a dense formulation, improves the strength, durability, and life of a structure, while reducing labor costs, energy use, and health risks during construction and maintenance costs throughout its life.

Pervious concrete, which allows rainwater to filter through, reduces flooding and heat concentration by up to approximately 39°F, and helps to prevent skidding on wet roads.

Rapid-setting concrete, which contains up to 80 percent fly ash, is a low-carbon alternative to conventional concrete. Concrete with high acid resistance is robust and durable for uses such as cooling towers or for storing silage on livestock farms.

We are exploring ways to combine our existing products to deliver new solutions that meet client needs. We are looking beyond the traditional technical properties of concrete to develop “next generation” ready-mix concrete products that incorporate labor considerations such as time savings, health, and safety, as well as other environmental impacts such as noise reduction. These innovations will enable us to make new products and solutions more accessible to our clients.

In addition, we are evaluating and improving the life-cycle analysis of our products to enhance our understanding of and ultimately reduce their environmental footprint. A specific example is the Life-Cycle.

Assessment of concrete pavements vs. asphalt pavements that demonstrate the reduction of CO2 emissions during the life utility of the pavement by several factors, for example: less maintenance, less power consumption in illumination during its use, and less fuel consumption due the reduction or rolling resistance.