Low-carbon concrete: three sites, three cost trade-offs
Published on July 21, 2026
The premium is usually quoted at 8% to 15%. On the three projects followed here it was 3%, 19% and nothing at all. The difference is the schedule, not the material.
The premium on low-carbon concrete is usually given as 8% to 15% on the concrete package. Three projects delivered in 2025 show that the range means little on its own.
On the first, an office building, the material premium was 11% and the total premium 3%. The reason is striking time. The mix chosen gains strength more slowly, the contractor reorganised the formwork rotation, and the labour saving absorbed half the difference.
On the second, an underground car park, the premium was 19%. The programme had no room for an extra day of rotation, so the pours were heated, and heating cost more than the cement saved.
On the third, an industrial building, there was no premium at all, because the batching plant was eleven kilometres away instead of forty-three. Concrete haulage is the line comparisons forget most often, and it is the one that decides.
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