Consolis Parma launches a new low-carbon product line
Consolis Parma, Finland’s leading concrete product manufacturer, is introducing a new low-carbon product line, whose carbon dioxide emissions are more than 40 per cent lower than standard hollow core slabs. The line is part of the company’s sustainable development strategy, in which carbon dioxide emissions from its own operations are reduced by five per cent yearly.
Finland is aiming for carbon neutrality in 2035. One key area in terms of success is the carbon dioxide emissions of construction and buildings, which must be brought to a lower level than the current level. The entire built environment accounts for about a third of Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions, and construction materials account for about 5 per cent.
Consolis Parma has also tackled the challenge of the entire real estate and construction industry, which is introducing a new low-carbon hollow slab to the market. The product series, based on a new environmentally friendly manufacturing technology, reduces the carbon dioxide emissions of hollow core slabs by more than 40 per cent compared to slabs in standard production.
The drop is significant because approximately two million square meters of hollow core slabs are used in Finland each year. Typically, the carbon dioxide equivalent number of the hollow core slabs used in the intermediate foundations of residential buildings is about 65 kilograms (CO2e) per square meter. The new low-carbon hollow core slab drops the calculated carbon dioxide emissions to approximately 37 kilograms per square meter.
According to Consolis Parma’s CEO Hannu Tuukkala, the new low-carbon product family is one important step on the way towards low-emission housing and construction. The carbon footprint of the hollow core slab has been reduced specifically by product development work and manufacturing technology and not by means of emission compensation.
“There is now a demand on the market for truly low-carbon products. Most of the environmental impact of buildings occurs during the use of buildings, but low-carbon products play a significant role in reducing emissions during the construction phase. This is the first new product series towards more environmentally friendly concrete construction“, says Tuukkala.
