Marian Garfield, Director of Sustainability at Heidelberg Materials UK, offers the manufacturers perspective to the production of one of the industries most carbon-intensive materials, highlighting the rapid development and growth of carbon capture, and emphasising the importance of synced up industries.

From ambition to industrial reality

Marian Garfield, Director of Sustainability at Heidelberg Materials UK, brought the perspective of a manufacturer confronting the carbon intensity of one of construction’s most widely used materials.

“We have to be a sustainable business. To be a business in 20 or 30 years, we have to do things differently,” she said, pointing to cement production’s significant contribution to global carbon emissions.

Garfield highlighted carbon capture as one area moving rapidly from ambition into implementation. Referring to Heidelberg Materials’ project at Brevik in Norway, she said: “This is not a difficult dream. This actually is not a dream. This is now reality.”

But technology alone is not enough. Earlier engagement between manufacturers and designers is also essential. “For us, it’s around talking to, learning, having conversations, being part of the solution rather than the problem.”