Local material

Concrete is a UK locally-sourced material, compared with steel where iron ore is transported from as far away as Brazil or timber which is often shipped from Canada. In 2019 the average delivery distance for all concrete was 48km (or 29.8 miles). The average delivery distance for all raw materials for concrete in 2019 was 49km.

Because concrete is locally sourced it means that monitoring its supply chain and ensuring its adherence to environmental, social regulatory and legislative benchmarks is relatively straightforward.

Responsible sourcing of construction products is an increasingly important issue for specifiers and clients. It touches all aspects of the supply chain. Of all construction products, concrete is best placed to deliver the highest level of responsible sourcing due to the local availability of materials, short supply chains and regulated management systems.

The Concrete Industry Sustainable Construction Strategy publishes annual data on the carbon dioxide associated with the transport of concrete and constituent materials.