Demand-side factors as dominant drivers of resource efficiency in the concrete aggregates cycle (opens in new tab)

Cement, concrete and aggregates are essential to modern infrastructure, but drive substantial resource use. We develop an integrated framework of the global concrete aggregates cycle, combining flows, stocks and services into a resource-use intensity metric, defined as resource use per unit of the Human Development Index. Using data for 184 economies from 1990 to 2018, we attribute changes to production- and demand-side drivers. Production-side improvements, such as clinker substitution or ef...