Concrete is still one of the most used materials in construction and for good reason: it's cheap, versatile, and relatively durable. Its negative environmental impact, though, is its biggest weakness. For this reason, research into possible avenues to reduce its carbon content as much as possible is blooming and a few avenues have been opened thanks to an unexpected ingredient: sugar.
Sugar, and especially products normally treated as sugar waste are what is propelling the research forward. Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) and sugarcane bagasse ash, for example, have been successfully used to reduce the environmental footprint of concrete production.