A new type of cement is currently being tested on a large scale in India. Known as LC3, this new blend substitutes up to half of the carbon intensive materials traditionally used to make cement with highly abundant clays.  Researchers from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne together with partners from the Indian Institutes of Technology and from universities in Cuba and Brazil have managed to double the quantity of cement produced from the same quantity of limestone by substituting a large portion of clinker  with calcined clay. Limestone Calcined Clay Cement, or LC3, has the potential to generate 20-30% less CO2 emissions compared to traditional Portland cement; a major reduction considering that cement accounts for 5-8% of today’s manmade emissions.

Finnair was due to operate an Airbus A330 flight from Helsinki to New York this week using biofuel partly manufactured from cooking oil recycled from restaurants. Switching to a more sustainable fuel source can reduce net CO2 emissions from flights by between 50% and 80%, the airline said. The biofuel mixture is provided by SkyNRG Nordic – a joint venture between SkyNRG and Statoil Aviation.