Concrete’s enabling role in building a sustainable and resilient future
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Summary
Oxford Economics' research for the Global Cement and Concrete Association argues that five megatrends, population growth and urbanisation, infrastructure and housing deficits, climate transition and resilience, geopolitical uncertainty and digitalisation, are reshaping construction demand, with construction activity forecast to increase by more than 70% to US$16.6 trillion annually by 2050. Cement and concrete are presented as critical to delivering essential infrastructure and strengthening resilience. The hard part is meeting rising demand while reducing carbon emissions, improving productivity, managing costs and ensuring sustainability, through innovation and resilient supply chains.
Highlights
Five major global megatrends—population growth and urbanisation, infrastructure and housing deficits, climate transition and resilience, geopolitical uncertainty, and digitalisation—are reshaping global construction demand.
With global construction activity forecast to increase by more than 70% to US$16.6 trillion annually by 2050, the report highlights the critical role of cement and concrete in delivering essential infrastructure.
Meeting rising infrastructure demand while reducing carbon emissions, improving productivity, managing costs and ensuring long-term sustainability.
Contrarian Viewpoints
- This is a landing-page summary for an industry association's research, not the underlying data, so the headline forecast should not be treated as independently verified.
- A forecast to 2050 carries enormous uncertainty, and the summary gives no emissions numbers for the concrete sector whose carbon problem it flags.
Investment Implications
- Take a multi-decade overweight to construction materials and infrastructure enablers, while treating low-carbon cement and concrete innovation as the key differentiator.