From waste to profit: An environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework for integrating recycled plastic into sustainable concrete production

The construction sector, a long-standing contributor to global pollution, is increasingly adopting sustainable alternatives to traditional building materials. This study evaluates the use of chemically treated post-consumer plactic packaging waste as a partial cement replacement in concrete production through an environmental, social, and governance oriented analytical framework. We combine life cycle assessment, a bi-objective location-allocation model, and evolutionary game theory to examine the environmental, economic, and governance-related implications of large-scale adoption. The life cycle assessment shows that substituting 3% of cement with treated plastic reduces global warming potential by 15% compared with conventional concrete. The location-allocation model identifies supply chain configurations that balance cost and emissions, while the game-theoretic analysis captures how producers adjust pricing and adoption in response to different governance mechanisms, including subsidies, taxes, and awareness policies. A Canadian case study indicates that, under supportive governance conditions, the share of green producers can increase by up to 63%, demonstrating how coordinated policy interventions can accelerate sustainable transitions. Overall, the results show how integrating environmental assessment, supply chain design, and governance-driven behavioral responses can support the development of more sustainable concrete technologies.