Mick George take a lead role in carbon reduction

Dedicated 100-tonne Cemfree silo installed at company’s concrete batching plant in Cambridgeshire

MICK George Concrete are taking a leading role in the supply of low-carbon alternatives to the East Anglia and East Midlands construction industry, having dedicated a 100-tonne silo at their Cambridgeshire-based batching plant to Cemfree, a low-carbon sustainable cement. 

As concerns over carbon emissions and climate change escalate, the company says it has responded to unprecedented interest for a ‘green’ solution by becoming the first ready-mixed concrete supplier in the region to stock Cemfree in this way.

Cemfree is an ultra-low-carbon cement produced by Cambridgeshire-based DB Group (Holdings) Ltd. The product can achieve embodied carbon savings of up to 80% when used to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in concrete production.

With concrete being the third-highest source of man-made CO2, Mick George Concrete say it is easy to see why this has already attracted significant interest, including from Highways England, which has agreed to trial the product on a series of ancillary applications (kerb backing, drainage, mass fill, signage etc) within a controlled, live section of the £1.5 billion A14 Huntingdon to Cambridge improvement scheme.

Mick George Concrete, who are exclusive concrete suppliers to the A14 project, will be supplying up to 500 cubic metres of Cemfree early in the new year, representing a pioneering test for low-carbon concrete as a technically appropriate, permanent application on major infrastructure projects.

Keen to demonstrate Cemfree’s practical applications, Mick George Concrete, in collaboration with DB Group (Holdings) Ltd, have agreed to absorb the additional cost of utilizing the environmentally friendly product within the project, a benefit that is anticipated to save approximately 500 tonnes of carbon. 

Michael George, managing director of the Mick George Group, commented: ‘Due to an increased corporate emphasis on carbon-reduction targets, there is undoubtedly more environmental consideration in construction build designs.

‘We have a strong reputation for developing cutting-edge solutions and niche products, and the introduction of Cemfree represented an opportunity to do both simultaneously.’