Public Lecture

Sustainable materials: with both eyes open

One third of the world's carbon emissions are emitted by industry. Most industrial emissions relate to producing materials, and steel and cement are by far the most important contributors. The industries that make materials are energy-intensive, so have always been motivated to be efficient, and have now reached a fantastic level of performance. However the world's demand for materials is growing, and likely to double by 2050. By default, industrial emissions will also double unless we do something differently. A five year project involving 20 large industrial partners, has led to six 'material efficiency' options which allow for the same services, such as housing or transport, with significantly less material. Dr Julian Allwood will demonstrate how these strategies can be applied in practice and sets out an agenda for making a big difference to global emissions.

Dr Julian Allwood is leader of the Low Carbon Materials Processing Group in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge.