"Concreting" UNICEM calls for banning a misleading term

By PR influence Published on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 16:17

Photo credits : UNICEM

Summary for decision-makers

The term "concreting," often used to refer to land take, wrongly conflates the process of urban sprawl with a construction material. In reality, concrete is a vector of sustainability and solutions adapted to contemporary challenges, enabling constructions that meet the requirements of the circular economy and sustainable resource management. Thanks to increasingly environmentally friendly formulations, concrete contributes to resilient infrastructure, with permeable surfaces, optimized performance against climatic hazards, and efficient use of recycled materials.

As part of a systemic approach to sustainable development, it is crucial to move beyond ideological positions. Project evaluation must be based on objective criteria such as life cycle analysis and carbon footprint. Opposing concrete and ecology is a dead end; it is essential to prioritize constructive and contextualized solutions. Concrete is thus positioned as an essential ally in meeting needs in housing, public transport, and public infrastructure, as emphasized by Alain Plantier, President of UNICEM.

The professional unions united within the National Union of Quarrying and Construction Materials Industries (UNICEM), including the National Union of Ready-Mixed Concrete (SNBPE), are calling on the media and stakeholders in development, construction and public policy to address the inappropriate and stigmatizing use of the term "concreting."

A word that confuses artificialization and material

This portmanteau word, without any technical or legal basis, undermines the necessary ecological transition by simplistically opposing urbanization and nature.

Wrongly used as a synonym for land artificialization, the word "concreting" conflates a process of urban sprawl with a construction material. It obscures the reality of its uses: in the majority of cases, concrete is a vector of solutions, not a cause of imbalances.
Concrete allows for sustainable construction, in a localized manner and with increasingly less complex formulations.
carbon-based, while integrating the growing demands of the circular economy and rational resource management.

Concrete, a lever for adaptation and resilience

In a context of climate change, concrete provides concrete solutions to strengthen the resilience of infrastructures:

Permeable surfaces and integrated rainwater management,
Durable structures, designed to withstand extreme climatic hazards (floods, extreme heat, frost),
Optimized thermal, acoustic and energy performance of buildings,
Incombustibility, resistance to high temperatures and protection of load-bearing structures in the event of fire,
Use of recycled materials and promotion of local resources,
Compact and efficient design, limiting urban sprawl.

Concrete is also essential for the construction of accessible housing, public transport networks, public facilities and infrastructure essential to community life.

For a technical, objective and well-founded debate

At a time when sustainable development issues require a systemic approach, UNICEM and the SNBPE are calling for a shift away from ideological positions. Project evaluations must be based on objective criteria (life cycle analysis, carbon footprint, multifunctionality of spaces, sustainability), and not on vague or anxiety-inducing concepts.

« Opposing concrete and ecology is a dead end. We need to talk about constructive, contextualized, and efficient solutions. Concrete has its place in this logic, in conjunction with other materials. ", declares Alain Plantier, president of UNICEM.