Capital Concrete Wins International Green Apple Award For Environmental Excellence

Capital Concrete has been recognised for its pioneering work in low-carbon concrete by winning a prestigious 2026 International Green Apple Environment Award, celebrating the company's role in helping accelerate the decarbonisation of the UK construction industry.

Selected from more than 700 entries worldwide, Capital Concrete was recognised for its award-winning submission, Driving the Adoption of Low-Carbon Concrete at Scale, which showcased how innovative concrete technologies are delivering meaningful reductions in embodied carbon while maintaining the performance, reliability and practicality required by modern construction projects.

The award recognises Capital Concrete's leadership in developing and supplying lower-carbon concrete solutions, including its involvement in two landmark industry initiatives: the UK's first residential structural application of calcined clay concrete at Brent Cross Town and its technical and material supply role for a pilot project delivered for the Accelerating Concrete Decarbonisation Group (AC-DG) programme.

The award recognises Capital Concrete's leadership in developing and supplying lower-carbon concrete solutions

Through these projects, Capital Concrete has demonstrated that lower-carbon concrete can be supplied, transported, pumped, placed and finished using conventional construction methods, removing many of the barriers that have historically slowed the adoption of more sustainable construction materials.

At Brent Cross Town, Capital Concrete supplied a code-compliant concrete containing 30% calcined clay as a cement replacement, achieving an approximate 10% reduction in embodied carbon compared with previous mixes used on the development. The project also marked the UK's first suspended slab constructed using calcined clay concrete, providing a significant milestone in the commercial adoption of lower-carbon concrete technologies.

Capital Concrete's calcined clay was used in Brent Cross Town’s third Build-to-Rent building.

The company also played a central role in the AC-DG initiative by developing, trialling and demonstrating three innovative low-carbon concrete systems. These included a CEM IV/B-Q calcined clay cement blend, a CEM V/A tri-blend incorporating calcined clay, GGBS and cement, and Ecocem ACT ultra-low-carbon concrete technology. Together, the trial mixes were used to construct full-scale wall, floor and roof structures, successfully demonstrating carbon reductions of more than 30% compared with conventional concrete while proving their viability for commercial-scale construction.

Low-carbon concrete supplied by Capital Concrete for the ACDG trials.

The judges recognised Capital Concrete's commitment to combining technical innovation with practical delivery. By investing in research, laboratory testing and commercial-scale production capabilities, the company has helped prove that significant carbon reductions can be achieved without requiring specialist equipment, extensive workforce training or changes to established construction processes.

"We are delighted to have received this International Green Apple Award. Reducing the embodied carbon of concrete is one of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry and this recognition reflects the commitment, expertise and innovation demonstrated by our entire team, commented Luke Smith, Managing Director of Capital Concrete.

"Our approach has always been focused on making low-carbon concrete practical and accessible. Through projects such as Brent Cross Town and our involvement in AC-DG, we have demonstrated that meaningful carbon reductions can be achieved at scale without compromising performance or buildability. We hope the lessons learned through these projects will help accelerate adoption across the wider industry."

The Green Apple Awards recognise organisations that are making a significant contribution to environmental improvement through innovation, commitment and measurable action. Organised by The Green Organisation, the awards celebrate environmental best practice from organisations around the world.

The award underscores Capital Concrete's ongoing commitment to helping the construction sector reduce embodied carbon and supports the company's ambition to make low-carbon concrete a mainstream solution for projects across the UK.