Ecuador’s largest affordable housing project saves 60% CO₂ emissions with ECOPact

Casa Laguna, the largest affordable housing project in Ecuador to date, used ECOPact green concrete for a 3,500 unit housing development. In total, ECOPact enabled 60% less CO2 emissions compared to conventional concrete.

13,000 m³

of ECOPact green concrete

60%

of CO₂ emissions saved - or a total of 1,100 tons

ECOPact

is a perfect solution for sustainable affordable housing projects

The challenge

With today’s rapid urbanization, over three billion people are expected to need affordable housing by 2030. Only with green buildings we can build a world that works for people and the planet.

Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, is a perfect example of this global trend. Each year, the city’s population grows by more than 1%, and is projected to reach almost 4 million inhabitants by 2035 - almost one million more than in 2022. This means that affordable sustainable housing is more important than ever.

Ritofa S.A. launched Ecuador’s largest construction project - Casa Laguna - on the outskirts of Guayaquil to ensure affordable housing for 3,500 families. Sustainability and ensuring that this housing development was as climate friendly as possible were key priorities for the developer.

The type of construction for the houses in Casa Laguna entailed a system of load-bearing walls, necessitating a monolithic concrete element.

The solution

To ensure the lowest climate footprint of Casa Laguna’s construction phase without compromising on performance, Ritofa S.A. relied on ECOPact green concrete.

ECOPact is the world’s broadest range of low-carbon concrete, offering 30% to 100% less carbon emissions compared to standard (CEM I) concrete. Where regulatory conditions allow, ECOPact+ concrete integrates upcycled construction and demolition materials, further closing the resource loop to reduce the environmental footprint.

Holcim Ecuador supplied all of the ready-mix concrete needed to complete the project, totaling a volume of 13,000 m³ of ECOPact to meet the sustainability requirements of Ritofa S.A.

Casa Laguna is one of our main projects. The social benefit is very important to us, while combining it with eco-efficient solutions just adds to its sustainability. Using ECOPact in Casa Laguna is in line with Holcim’s ambition to build greener cities. ECOPact represents innovation, sustainability, progress and the future.

Maria Isabel Chiribonga| Sales Director for Cement at Holcim Ecuador

The result

Casa Laguna was completed in March, 2022. The result is a total of 3,500 houses, with nine housing models ranging from 111 to 160 m² per unit, and a reduction of 98 kg of CO₂ equivalent for each cubic meter sold. This amounts to 60% less CO₂ emissions (or a total of 1,100 tons of CO₂ saved).

For Ritofa, it’s a win-win. We seek to innovate with our projects, and ECOPact is the solution that allows us to take care of the environment.

Marcos Bastidas| Chief engineer and director of the Casa Laguna project

Holcim Ecuador won the prestigious "Saco de Oro" (Golden Sack) award in the sustainability category with the Casa Laguna project.

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