By 2050, nearly 50% of all emissions generated by new construction are expected to come from building materials like concrete. Cement manufacturers in the U.S. recognize the impact of cement’s contribution to concrete’s greenhouse gas emissions and have set a goal to reach carbon neutrality by the same year.  

Many states are taking action to reduce carbon emissions from concrete production and construction as well. For example, by 2030, all structures 10,000 square feet or larger in California must reduce carbon in building materials by 20%, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. By 2035, that number jumps to 40%.  

To meet their decarbonization goals, Affinius Capital and McDonald Property Group selected PREMIER Design + Build as the general contractor and Guy Yocom as the design-build concrete subcontractor for The HUB @ Ontario International Airport, a master-planned logistics park. The HUB will be one of the first large-scale developments in Southern California to incorporate an ECOSLAB carbon-reduction system, Total Integrated Panel Systems (TIPS), and paving.  

Phase 1 for The HUB includes four buildings totaling more than two million square feet. Using TIPS panels for the building shells will make a significant contribution to the team’s CO₂ reduction efforts, according to PREMIER.  

“This project is leading the industry by pioneering a new and exciting direction with the use of TIPS panels in lieu of the traditional concrete tilt walls,” said Derrick Schuster, project executive with PREMIER’s Southern California office. “The foam core components are an innovative way to reduce the project’s carbon footprint by eliminating a substantial portion of cement. This is a transformational solution for achieving the elevated sustainability goals established for this industrial park.” 

Concrete-related decarbonization initiatives on The HUB will result in approximately 31,500 tons less embodied carbon released into the atmosphere across the entire development when compared to projects using conventional concrete designs.