Prepare to be different, to create a difference.

Concrete bricks manufactured by Marshalls have been found to contain almost 50 per cent less embodied carbon than traditional clay bricks, according to the British manufacturing company.

Marshalls Bricks and Masonry offers a range of concrete facing bricks, which have been developed to be as sustainable as possible.

Research carried out by the brand found that switching from fired clay bricks to concrete alternatives effectively halves the embodied carbon in the external walls of a newly constructed house.

The calculations suggest that, on average, using concrete bricks could offer CO2 savings of 2.4 tonnes over the lifetime of every new house.

“To put this into context, if housebuilders were to adopt this approach across every house built in the UK for one year, then the lifetime CO2 savings would be equivalent to taking 300,000 cars off the road, or reducing transatlantic flights by almost half a million," said the brand.

Marshalls Bricks and Masonry has been able to reduce the amount of cement in its concrete by at least 40 per cent over the past decade, by replacing it with alternative substitutes. This reduces the material's carbon footprint without affecting its strength or durability.

"We don't need to fire a product in hundreds or thousands of degrees to cure it," say the brand, comparing the process to the way that clay bricks are produced. "A concrete product will cure naturally on its own without any additional help and will just get stronger over time."

Marshalls believes its concrete products can significantly contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the construction industry, while also helping the UK government achieve its target of building 300,000 new homes every year until 2025.

The concrete facing bricks are available in a range of colours and finishes, to suit a variety of different purposes and aesthetics.

They come with carbon labelling footprint information calculated by the Carbon Trust using methodology outlined in PAS2050 and approved by the Carbon Trust, to give customers full transparency.

Marshalls Bricks and Masonry products are manufactured in locations across the UK, which brings an additional layer of efficiency to the process, and again reducing the carbon footprint compared to clay alternatives that are imported.

They are also 100 per cent recyclable, so they can be repurposed at the end of their life.

For more information about Marshalls' Bricks and Masonry products visit the brand's website, or find out more about their sustainability plans