The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has launched UK Concrete to proactively engage with political stakeholders and public bodies, and promote the advantages of building in concrete and the vital role the material plays in people's everyday lives.

Chris Leese, former vice president at Cemex UK, has been appointed as director of UK Concrete and will be responsible for rolling out the organisation’s programme to convey concrete’s benefits to a wider audience.

Mr Leese said: "It is time for the features and benefits of concrete to be recognised and valued together with the commitments the industry is making to support the transition to a net zero carbon society by 2050. Part of our new role will be to highlight the progress the industry is already making to lower concrete's carbon footprint, through the development of materials that allow us to build faster and more cost effectively, and showcasing the benefits of using concrete for a sustainable built environment throughout the UK.

"It is therefore critical that we engage constructively with policy makers and influential stakeholders to promote the advantages of choosing concrete, including strengthening the resilience of our housing and infrastructure against fire, flooding and other threats."

Over 95 per cent of UK concrete, both ready mixed and precast, is produced domestically from around 1000 sites nationwide, with over 90Mta consumed. The concrete sector is a key part of a combined mineral products industry, which contributes around GBP18bn to the UK's GDP and directly employs 74,000 people, supporting a further 3.5m jobs.