High-Performance, Low-Carbon Concrete for Adelaide’s SASI Headquarters
ECOPact Active cuts embodied carbon and delivers high-performance concrete for one of South Australia’s first Green Star Buildings projects
The new South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) Headquarters in Adelaide is a leading example of how performance-focused design and low-carbon materials can shape the next generation of community infrastructure. Built with Holcim Australia’s ECOPact® Active concrete, the facility demonstrates how innovative material technology can meet the needs of a changing built environment.
The Challenge
Reducing Embodied Carbon
The SASI Headquarters set out to achieve a 5 Star Green Star Buildings rating and is one of the first projects in South Australia registered under the new Green Star Buildings tool. The guidelines require a measurable reduction in embodied carbon, which placed strong emphasis on selecting low-carbon construction materials.
Structural elements account for the largest share of embodied carbon in most buildings, so reducing the impact of the concrete mix presented the greatest opportunity. The project team needed to achieve at least a 20% reduction across the building while maintaining high early strength, durability and long-term performance.
Hear from the Project Partners
Watch the project video to hear from Hansen Yuncken, dsquared Consulting and Holcim Australia about how ECOPact Active supported the design and delivery of the SASI Headquarters.
The South Australian Sports Institute’s new home, delivered with ECOPact Active to support a lower-carbon footprint.
The Solution
ECOPact Active
Holcim supplied ECOPact Active, a high-performance, low-carbon concrete mix specifically calibrated to the engineering and sustainability goals of the project. Key benefits included:
- A minimum 30% reduction in embodied carbon compared to standard Portland cement concrete
- Exceptional early-age strength, supporting efficient construction sequencing
- Lower shrinkage for improved structural performance
- A tailored mix design suitable for post-tensioned slabs, walls and architectural finishes
In practical terms, the ECOPact Active mix reduced the carbon intensity of the post-tensioned concrete from approximately 340 kg CO₂/m³ to around 270 kg CO₂/m³, without compromising workability or finish quality. Exposed columns, stair cores and other elements requiring tight tolerances achieved high-quality results.
The SASI Headquarters is also the first project in South Australia to use ECOPact concrete across the entire structural build, reflecting growing confidence in advanced low-carbon materials.
The Result
A New Benchmark for High-Performance, Low-Carbon Civic Buildings
On site, ECOPact Active delivered the same workability, pumpability and finishing performance as traditional mixes. The construction team reported excellent results across all critical elements, including exposed surfaces and fire-stair slabs requiring strict flatness tolerances.
Early design decisions using ECOPact Active played a key role in cutting embodied carbon for the SASI Headquarters.
By adopting ECOPact Active, the project team met embodied-carbon reduction requirements while maintaining the required strength, durability and architectural finish. The outcome reflects the project’s ambition to set a new benchmark for high-performance, low-carbon civic buildings in South Australia.
This achievement aligns with Holcim’s NextGen Growth 2030 strategy, which focuses on expanding high-value, low-carbon and circular building solutions to support greener, more resilient cities.
The South Australian Sports Institute Project, funded through the Government of South Australia and the University of South Australia. Structural Engineer, KBR and Architect, COX Architecture.
