Building our houses is hurting our home. Traditional construction is responsible for generating 27% of global CO2. Alternative methods such as 3D printing hold promise, but there is work to do before construction is truly environmentally-friendly.

3D printing is an industry that is already sustainable right now. The process produces a fraction of the waste of traditional construction manufacturing, because builders simply print exactly and only what they need. It only requires a small factory with minimal space for storage materials, and unlike a traditional production line, 3D printing does not require energy to move the same parts from one step to the next.

However, some builders using green processes still rely on traditional materials, such as cement. Cement alone is responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions, virtually eliminating any positive impact on the environment that 3D printing can deliver.

Sustainable materials are already available today. For example, polymer composite is as strong and durable as concrete – the synthetic stone developed by Mighty Buildings weighs 30% less than concrete and has five times the tensile and flexural strength. These innovative materials can be stored in compact liquid or semi-liquid form in barrels, which helps keep factory footprint small. The environmental benefits continue once a building is printed, as polymer composite is a superior insulator to traditional materials, minimizing the emissions of the house during its lifetime, as it’s lived in and used.

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