The Leaf THE LEAF November-December 2019 | Page 20

Builders Are Using Hemp Instead of Concrete and It Could Save the Environment
— It’s hard to imagine that cement could
possibly be replaced by any other material for
major construction projects, but the industry
is starting to look at alternatives for a variety
of different environmental and economic
reasons.
According
to
Bloomberg,
cement
manufacturers are responsible for roughly 7%
of annual global carbon dioxide emissions.
Furthermore, the massive demand for cement
has created a global shortage of sand, which
could have a disastrous impact on both the
environment and the economy.
Surprisingly, hemp-based concretes are
among
the
most
promising
and
environmentally sustainable alternatives to
conventional concrete.
This is not just a theoretical idea or prediction,
but something that builders are already
implementing in their architecture.
64-year-old Mac Radford, owner of
JustBioFiber Structural Solutions, one of the
leading manufacturers of hemp-concrete, says
that demand for the material has increased so
much in recent years that he is having a hard
time keeping up with the demand, and once
his recent expansion is completed, he
estimates that his company will be producing
enough hemp brick to build roughly 2,000
homes per year.
Radford told Bloomberg that his company is
already making a profit, and with a new $28
million investment, they hope to continue
their expansion even further.
Hempcrete was initially developed in France
over 30 years ago.
However, the use of hemp in construction
materials dates back as far as ancient Rome
when it was mixed into the mortar that was
used to build bridges. It was not until recently
that modern builders actually started taking
this material seriously and began considering
it for large scale projects.
In addition to being better for the
environment, hempcrete is also more resistant
to fire, regulates temperature better and offers
better ventilation than conventional concrete.
According to Quentin Pichon, the founder of
CAN-Ingenieurs Architectes, a company
specialising in hempcrete, the material is
becoming increasingly common and was even