Could Bamboo Take on Concrete? Rethinking Sustainable Construction

The Case for Alternatives

Concrete has long been a defining material in the way modern infrastructure is built. According to the Cement Industry Federation in its journal “Decarbonization Pathways for the Australian Cement and Concrete Sector”, 40% of all concrete produced in Australia is used for infrastructure projects, with 30% used for commercial and non-residential buildings and another 30% for housing. The scale of its use is further reflected in Australia’s production of around 29 million cubic meters of ready-mix concrete each year, supplied through more than 1,500 batching plants across the country.  

This widespread reliance on concrete also makes the search for viable alternatives an important consideration for engineering professionals in different parts of the world. The question is not necessarily whether concrete use should be replaced in construction, but whether other materials could offer useful alternatives in particular contexts. It is within this conversation that Dr Evangelista’s research in Ghana examines bamboo alongside concrete to explore what the comparison can reveal about different approaches to construction. 

A Material Like Bamboo

As Dr Evangelista explains, “For decades, materials such as concrete and steel have been the default choice because of their proven performance, but their environmental impacts are often treated as secondary considerations.”  

Part of that consideration comes down to the environmental footprint of concrete, particularly the emissions associated with cement production. According to the May 2026 Carbon Performance Data for Cement from the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), cement production accounted for 6% of total global emissions in 2024.

The same TPI assessment also provides insight into how major cement companies worldwide are responding to this challenge, with 21% at the Transition Planning and Implementation stage and 7% at the Strategic Assessment stage.  This points to industries increasingly examining how production practices and emissions can change, while reconsidering the materials used in construction. 

Bamboo is one material being considered an alternative, with a long history of use across parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America in housing, bridges, and other structures.

For Dr. Evangelista, this meant looking beyond bamboo’s traditional applications.

As she puts it, “There is a gap in data on bamboo’s environmental performance. Bamboo has a potential to support sustainable urban development and provide a locally relevant construction solution that could contribute to decarbonizing the built environment.”  

In the study, the researchers used a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) to examine the environmental impacts of bamboo and concrete construction. In simple terms, this approach compares the environmental impacts of different materials across their life cycle. The researchers compared a suspended engineered bamboo floor with a conventional 150 mm reinforced concrete floor in a typical single-storey residential building in urban Ghana, based on a 60-year service life. 

An Environmental Difference

The results showed a significant difference in the global warming potential of the two flooring systems. The concrete floor was estimated to produce 160 kg CO₂-eq per square meter, compared with the 12 kg CO₂-eq per square meter for the bamboo floor. This means that the bamboo system had around 93% lower global warming potential in the study. However, the findings were not the same across every environmental impact category. The processing of engineered bamboo, particularly the energy required for drying, laminating, and pressing, contributed to some of its environmental impacts.  

As Dr. Evangelista explains, “Our findings demonstrate that the environmental consequences of material selection can be substantial and should be assessed just as rigorously as strength, durability, and safety.” The researchers therefore concluded that bamboo could offer substantial environmental benefits in certain construction applications, but its overall performance depends on how it is processed and used.

Taken together, these findings suggest that the choice does not have to be between bamboo and concrete. Instead, the two materials could potentially serve different roles within the same infrastructure depending on the requirements of each application.   

For engineering students, this comparison demonstrates how material selection can extend beyond established engineering practice. As Dr. Evangelista explains, “The change we would like to see is a shift from a purely extractive construction mindset to a regenerative one, where engineers actively consider how material choices affect ecosystems, resource consumption, and future generations.”  Research such as this also reinforces the need for engineering education to prepare students to rethink conventional material choices and apply environmental evidence to real engineering decisions. 

References 

Towards a Comparative Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Bamboo and Concrete Construction for Sustainable Urban Development in Ghana 

Decarbonization Pathways for the Australian Cement and Concrete Sector 

Carbon Performance Data for Cement 

TPI assessment