New Concrete Cuts CO2 Emissions

[Commitments and Society] Published 14-07-2023

Pouring concrete into a high security vault door during its manufacture

The innovation is both cheaper and generates much less industrial waste

Gunnebo’s factory in Germany has developed a new concrete that sharply reduces the emissions of a key greenhouse gas. 

The resulting energy and transport savings mean the carbon footprint of the concrete will be reduced by 60%, according to calculations made using the Ecoinvent Database, a recognised source of high-quality data for sustainability assessments. 

This means a reduction of CO2 emissions by more than 1,000 tons per year. A conservative calculation suggests this is equivalent to 10,000 trees. 

The new concrete is also cheaper and generates much less industrial waste in its production. Concrete is an essential component in the high security safes and vaults manufactured by Gunnebo.

“The story of how we developed this new concrete illustrates how we can improve our economies and protect our environment at the same time,” says Jerome Paillier, R&D Materials Expert, who was part of the taskforce that made this innovation.  

“Sustainability is an opportunity, a chance to rethink. Necessity is the mother of invention.”  

The change does not affect the accredited security level of Gunnebo’s products. 

“The rapid development of this new concrete, and its successful implementation in production, illustrates how Gunnebo is working to embed sustainability into everything we do,” says Stefan Syrén, President and CEO. 

Read more about Gunnebo’s approach to sustainability here and our safe storage products here