Cement production is energy-intensive and polluting. Cement production requires about 6 million BTUs per ton of cement produced; most of that energy is used in coal-fired cement kilns, resulting in high carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and sulfur emissions. It's been calculated that producing a ton of cement releases a ton of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Concrete mixtures incorporating recycled-content, performance-enhancing, portland-cement-reducing admixtures such as fly ash reduce the environmental impact. Recycled materials used in place of mined stone aggregate -such as slag, a byproduct of steel production - ease landfill burdens and can improve the concrete's strength-to-weight ratio and thermal properties.

Minimal use of concrete is a green-building objective. For example concrete pier foundations greatly reduce concrete use compared with full-height frost walls; while most commonly used for decks, outdoor stairs, and the like, they are also used for entire buildings and can be particularly appropriate on ecologically fragile sites.

Insulating Concrete Forms provide a more labor-efficient means of making insulated poured-concrete walls, floors, and roof decks. ICFs are permanent forms and aren't disassembled after the concrete has cured. Most ICFs are made from expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam produced with a non-ozone-depleting blowing agent; Some are made from a composite of wood waste or EPS beads and portland cement. The environmental advantages of ICF walls include higher R-values, and their use can result in reduced concrete content compared with conventionally formed concrete walls.