LCA of Cement with Alternative Additives: Pathways to Sustainable Production.

The cement industry is responsible for approximately 7-8% of global CO emissions, primarily due to the energy-intensive production of clinker. In response to growing environmental concerns and the pressure to decarbonize the construction sector, the composition of cement has been evolving toward more sustainable alternatives. This article presents a review of the recent literature and EPD reports concerning changes in cement composition and their environmental impact, as assessed through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies. This paper reviews the literature of recent LCA studies on cement with alternative materials. For a thorough analysis, VOSviewer_1.6.18 was used to find the research gap in this field. The companies' EPD reports were analyzed to compare the most relevant information. The data that was extracted from the reports concerns carbon footprint, energy consumption, and system boundaries. The analysis reveals a clear trend toward reducing clinker content by incorporating supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, natural pozzolans, and limestone. These modifications significantly lower key LCA indicators, particularly Global Warming Potential (GWP). Despite the growing number of studies on individual SCMs, there is a lack of integrated reviews comparing their environmental performance within a standardized LCA framework. This study addresses this gap by systematically comparing the environmental profiles of various low-clinker cement types and highlighting the critical role of supplementary cementitious materials selection. The findings confirm that changes in cement formulation are not only occurring but are essential for reducing the environmental footprint of construction materials.