SUSTAINABILITY IN CONSTRUCTION: GSE ITALY’S COMMITMENT STARTS WITH BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT AND MATERIALS RESEARCH

From reducing embodied carbon emissions to regenerating brownfield sites. These are the priorities driving the research efforts of GSE Italia, a leader in sustainable industrial construction, which is currently testing a new type of concrete capable of significantly lowering CO₂ emissions.

This year once again, World Environment Day will engage millions of people around the globe with the aim of raising awareness about the need for decisive action to reverse human-driven trends that are placing increasing pressure on our planet. Among these, the construction sector stands out, being responsible for approximately 40% of global CO₂ emissions* and for land consumption linked to ongoing urban expansion.

GSE Italia, one of the leading players in industrial construction worldwide, is constantly committed to reducing the environmental impact of its sector through sustainable construction models based on materials research and the brownfield approach, namely the redevelopment of previously developed and abandoned sites in order to preserve undeveloped land.

Continuous materials research to reduce embodied carbon footprint
In the industrial construction sector, there are two main types of emissions: operational emissions, generated by energy consumption, and embodied emissions, resulting from material production and construction activities. The GSE Group is increasingly committed to researching new solutions and building relationships with strategic partners in order to reduce both categories of emissions, continuously improving results and focusing particularly on the adoption of low-impact construction systems and sustainable materials. This is made possible through ongoing research led by the Group’s headquarters in Avignon, particularly by the Quality, Safety and Methods Department headed by Mario Milanesi, the Innovation Department, and the Sustainability Department coordinated by Celine Fontana, all of which invest significant effort in identifying the best solutions from both quality and environmental perspectives.

One of the strengths of an international group is the ability to create positive cross-fertilisation and transfer know-how and innovation between headquarters and subsidiaries, implementing best practices through a cross-country approach. In this regard, following a practice already widespread in France, GSE Italia has long adopted CEM III cement for foundations and industrial flooring in its projects. This well-established cement now plays a leading role in the production of low-carbon concrete, with less than 200 kgCO₂/m³ for XF1 C30/37 concrete (a 25% reduction for industrial floors) and less than 180 kgCO₂/m³ for XC2 C25/30 concrete (a 20% reduction for foundations). A low-carbon concrete mix using CEM III was also employed in the construction of the logistics facility commissioned by Vailog-Segro in Orbassano, contributing to a significant milestone for GSE Italia, which with this project is pursuing, for the first time in Italy’s logistics sector, the Zero Carbon Certification by the International Living Future Institute. Another important example is the Arluno project commissioned by Savills, where CEM III has been used throughout both foundations and industrial flooring.

Italy has also been selected to drive a further step forward in innovation. A recent study conducted in the country by GSE’s Quality, Safety and Methods Department identified an even more advanced solution in terms of both quality and sustainability through the use of concrete incorporating the new CEM VI cement. This material makes it possible to achieve similar or even better CO₂ reduction performance, with the potential for an additional 10% reduction in carbon emissions, depending on the specific strength and exposure classes involved. This experimentation has also been made possible thanks to partnerships with Bekaert Europe, supplier of new high-performance fibres; ID Concrete Srl, which carried out laboratory testing and pilot floor trials; and Lafarge France, manufacturer of CEM VI cement.
At present, CEM VI is undergoing testing while awaiting broader production and availability within the Italian market, before being implemented in GSE Italia projects.

“If we want to reduce the environmental footprint of the construction sector, it is essential to promote materials research in order to identify solutions capable of lowering emissions associated with the production of construction materials,” said Vincenzo Binetti, Senior Sustainable Building Engineer at GSE Italia. “In the case of CEM VI, CO₂ reductions are achieved on two levels: during the production process itself and through the lower cement content required in the concrete mix compared to conventional formulations.”

“Naturally, offering more sustainable solutions must not come at the expense of performance,” said Sofia Lamberti, QSM Manager at GSE Italia. “This is why GSE continually performs tests such as the one conducted to assess the quality of CEM VI. In this case, our primary focus was to identify the optimal mix for industrial flooring, and we found that compressive strength, flexural performance and shrinkage values were all equivalent to those of traditional cement. From an aesthetic perspective, the results were excellent, with a finish identical to that of conventional concrete mixes. Tests carried out so far have highlighted a different workability profile compared with traditional mixes, although this remains manageable and has no negative impact on industrial flooring installation schedules.”

Not just materials: brownfield development and land preservation
While essential, materials research is not the only strategy adopted by GSE Italia to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint. The company also strongly promotes brownfield development, namely building on previously urbanised and subsequently abandoned land rather than on undeveloped or agricultural sites.