Dezeen promotion: concrete bricks manufactured by Marshalls have been found to contain almost 50 per cent less embodied carbon than traditional clay bricks, according to the British manufacturing company. 
Marshalls brick and Masonry offers a range of concrete facing bricks, which have been developed to be as sustainable as possible.
Research carried out by the brand found that switching from fired clay bricks to concrete alternatives effectively halves the embodied carbon in the external walls of a newly constructed house.
The calculations suggest that, on average, using concrete bricks could offer CO2 savings of 2.4 tonnes over the lifetime of every new house.
"To put this into context, if housebuilders were to adopt this approach across every house built in the UK for one year, then the lifetime CO2 savings would be equivalent to taking 300,000 cars off the road, or reducing transatlantic flights by almost half a million," said the brand. Marshalls offers concrete bricks that are less carbon-intensive than fired clay bricks
In a recent talk with Dezeen, Marshalls sustainability director Chris Harrop explained that the products were made more environmentally friendly through innovations in the manufacturing process.
The brand has been able to reduce the amount of cement in its concrete by at least 40 per cent over the past decade, by replacing it with more sustainable substitutes. This reduces the material's carbon footprint without impacting its strength o...