The Context: Unseen Foundations, Unaddressed Risks
Sand, silicates, and concrete are the indispensable yet often invisible materials that shape the modern world. From homes and roads to glass, data centres, and urban megaprojects, these materials form the very backbone of the global built environment. At over 50 billion tonnes extracted each year (UNEP), sand and gravel are the most consumed solid materials on Earth, now surpassing fossil fuels in volume. Indeed, the volume of sand and gravel used each year is enough to build a wall around the equator measuring 27 metres high by 27 metres wide.
This vast scale of use is driven by rapid urbanisation, large-scale infrastructure expansion, and the growing demand for construction materials in emerging and industrialised economies alike. According to the UN Environment Programme, global sand consumption has tripled over the past two decades a trend expected to continue as cities expand and the global population urbanises further.
However, this surge in demand is not without serious consequences. Sand and silicate extraction can lead to the destruction of riverbeds, deltas, and coastal ecosystems. It has been linked to biodiversity loss, land subsidence, and the displacement of vulnerable communities. As reported by The Guardian, in some cases, illegal and unregulated extraction has even fuelled conflict and corruption.
Despite their central role, sand, silicates, and concrete remain largely absent from global frameworks on responsible sourcing and supply chain due diligence. While minerals and metals have seen significant governance innovation, the construction materials sector still lacks cohesive and scalable systems for assessing and addressing impacts. As new regulations like the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) begin to reshape expectations across value chains, this gap has become increasingly visible—and urgent.
Purpose and Goals
The goal of this session is to examine how due diligence frameworks—originally developed for high-risk minerals—can be adapted to the scale and complexity of sand, silicates, and concrete supply chains. By doing so, the session seeks to promote a shared understanding of what responsible sourcing can look like for these materials and how credible, place-sensitive strategies can be scaled.
Topics for Discussion
- What constitutes best practice in due diligence for sand, silicates, and concrete in the built environment?
- How can construction and infrastructure stakeholders engage more deeply with the risks embedded in their material supply chains?
- What tools, partnerships, and regulatory mechanisms can support a transition to responsible sourcing?
- How can technical knowledge on extraction and sourcing be aligned with the practical realities of urban planners, builders, and local authorities?
As demand continues to rise, we must ask: What does responsible sourcing look like for the world’s most extracted materials?
About the Session
This session is organized by the Concrete Sustainability Council and the Responsible Sand and Silicates initiative of The University of Queensland. It will convene diverse actors from the construction, infrastructure, and minerals governance sectors to explore how collaboration and due diligence can help embed sustainability into the world’s most widely used building materials.
Join us at WRF25 to discover how responsible sourcing of sand, silicates, and concrete can help build more sustainable and fair built environments.